Waiting in the wings: The making of a Third Driver

Jak Crawford is right where he wants to be – for now. Meet the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team driver who won't race in 2026 unless Lance Stroll or Fernando Alonso are unable to get behind the wheel.

Friends. Family. Home.

Jak Crawford made a choice that few would consider at 10 years old. He left them all behind in Texas to move to another continent, alone, in pursuit of his dream and prove himself in the ultra-competitive European karting scene.

A decade later, recently announced as Aston Martin Aramco's Third Driver, he's cutting a relaxed figure in the sun-soaked Yas Marina F1 paddock, sinking into the plush surroundings of a sofa that is sandstone only in colour. Black BOSS polo and shorts. Straight fit. Straight talking.

"You know, quite early on in my Aston Martin Aramco career, I was aware the Third Driver role could be on the cards. I've spoken regularly with the team in 2025 and I knew that I had a chance if I got enough points for an FIA Super Licence based on my F2 results.

"That only added extra incentive and motivation, and it started looking like a real possibility. Soon after the summer break, we agreed the deal.

"I've been thinking about it more and more. But it's really only starting to sink in now.

"I spoke to my dad after becoming Third Driver. We talked about the thousands of drivers I'd raced against since my karting days, all chasing the same dream to get to Formula One, and how only a handful have made it. Very few get an opportunity like this.

"I'm going to learn a lot. It's a big step up and although it's unlikely I'll be racing, when it's time to drive, I'll be ready."

Patience

Jak has spoken candidly before about wanting to make the right decision for his career rather than rushing up the motorsport ladder. This is about the long game for him and a curious paradox where patience can pay in a sport synonymous with speed.

Not that Jak's rise up the ranks has been pedestrian. His abundant talent and tireless work ethic have led to reaching career milestones sooner than many of his counterparts, such as driving an F3 car for the first time at the age of 15 – when most drivers are only just stepping into F4 machinery – and competing in F2 at 17.

Perhaps unsurprisingly for someone who has experienced so much in a relatively short space of time, Jak speaks with a self-awareness that belies his 20 years and is absolutely clear in his mind about what his career requires at this stage.

"Staying with Aston Martin Aramco was an easy decision to make. This is the next step.

"When I got the offer from the team, I felt as though they were showing loyalty to me, and I wanted to show it back. The team has done a lot for me, and I feel part of the family. Continuing this journey together just feels right. It's the right thing to do."

Having joined Aston Martin Aramco in 2024 as the team's Young Driver, Jak has been embedded in the team for two years and is trusted to give valuable feedback from the countless hours he's spent in the simulator at the AMR Technology Campus and the laps he's accrued behind the wheel of our F1 cars.

That will still be the case in his new role, alongside greater involvement during race weekends.

"There are a few aspects to being Third Driver that are slightly different to what I was doing previously. I need to be ready to replace either Lance or Fernando in case they can't drive at a race weekend, and I'll be with the team at every Grand Prix, providing feedback and listening to debriefs, helping where I can as we try to extract everything from the AMR26.

"There will be a lot of simulator work, especially as the development curve of this next generation of F1 cars will be steep, and therefore a lot of correlation work in the car itself. My duties behind the wheel will continue for Free Practice and test sessions.

"Away from the track, my responsibilities will ramp up too: I'll spend more time with our partners and fans, and you'll see me appear more often in marketing activations. On-track, off-track, it's going to be a lot of fun."

There's not a lot of time to process it if you are needed. You take all the prep you've done for the weekend, get in the cockpit, and go.

The call

But how much fun can being in a 24-7 state of readiness actually be? Jak is on call, but he may never get the call. Much like a fighter pilot, he must be physically and mentally ready to spring into action – likely at very short notice – yet never go into battle.

He's a phone call or tap on the shoulder away from making his F1 race debut, from realising a dream he's harboured since those formative years on the kart track in Houston, and yet he doesn't know when or if that moment will come.

How does a 20-year-old deal with that? Has Jak even come to terms with it yet?

"It... It will be..."

The roar of an Airbus A350 climbing overhead, which has just departed nearby Zayed International Airport, provides a perhaps welcome, albeit brief, interlude for Jak to consider his response.

"...it will be a challenge, but I'll figure it out.

"From a weekend preparation standpoint, I'll follow the same process I always have. Beforehand, I'll do laps in the simulator and speak with the engineers. Then, once the weekend begins, I'll listen to Lance and Fernando's feedback and see how the car is behaving. I'll be ready to put my race suit and helmet on and jump into the cockpit if needed.

"In terms of being prepared physically, my team and I have some good reference data for where my body needs to be so that I'm Grand Prix ready.

"I won't be driving regularly, which means it's going to be tricky to stay race fit, so I'm going to train as much as possible. I'm already feeling a lot stronger than normal because I'm trying to compensate for the lack of racing. That way, if I do get in the car, I shouldn't notice it physically.

"It's the mental side of things that's perhaps more challenging because, more than likely, I'll do all this preparation but I won't actually be in the car in Qualifying or the Grand Prix.

"I need to be ready but not get my hopes up. It's a balancing act.

"From what I've heard when speaking to other drivers, there's not a lot of time to process it if you are needed. You take all the preparation you've done for the weekend, get into the cockpit, and go.

"It's not lost on me that I've just come out of F2 and I still have tonnes of stuff to learn. Managing each race weekend mentally will be just one of those things."

Bittersweet

A multi-race winner and Vice-Champion, Jak enjoyed plenty of success in the chief feeder series to F1. But as one door opens in motorsport another must close, and while he knows he must make this next step on the path to becoming an F1 race driver, he reveals it's ever so slightly bittersweet.

"Moving on was inevitable, but I'm going to miss my F2 team. We had a great bond. We're not stopping because we want to, we're stopping because we have to.

"Eventually, I had to move on and stop racing in F2. That's just how it is. I'm ready to take this next step in my career – I need to take it.

"F2 is such a competitive series with a lot of ups and downs. The downs are not great, but the ups when you win together are brilliant. I had a fantastic team and made some lifelong friends. But ultimately, I knew this time would come if I wanted to keep progressing."

I've made sacrifices but so have those closest to me; it's a two-way thing, I wouldn't be where I am now if it wasn't for their support.

While Jak may not race in 2026 – something of an oddity for anyone whose occupation is racing driver – he's already identified growth opportunities that being Third Driver will afford him. Once again, he's thinking about the long game, the bigger picture.

"I don't have plans to do any other racing in 2026. I really want to focus on this job. When you add testing to the race weekends, more than half of my year is already taken up, so there won't be much free time.

"I've juggled a lot in recent years: F2, Formula E, F1. I'm excited to solely focus on F1 and not switch between different series. It should make keeping sharp and focused a lot easier and allow me to stay fully immersed in that F1 mindset and way of working.

"To be an F1 driver, you need to be ultra-fast behind the wheel, but to achieve that you need more than raw talent. It's multi-faceted. Everything needs to be geared to unlocking crucial extra tenths, from technical and engineering understanding to training and nutrition. I'm excited to be in a position where I can take this experience to the next level. I'm going to squeeze every drop of knowledge out of those around me.

"And I'm also looking forward to visiting some new countries, such as Japan, Singapore, and Brazil, and meeting new people along the way. It's a year of new horizons."

New opportunities and experiences aside, one can't help but wonder about those closest to Jak, those friends and family back home in Texas.

"There's been a lot of sacrifice and tough decisions along the way – that's true of anyone who's chased a dream. I've made sacrifices but so have those closest to me; it's a two-way thing, I wouldn't be where I am now if it wasn't for their support.

"They're all super excited, though. A lot of them can't believe it; it's not normal to grow up in Texas and make it to an F1 team.

"But here I am."