Who are the 2025 F1 Reserve Drivers?

McLaren reserve drivers

Pato O'Ward

O'Ward a star of the IndyCar grid - racing for Arrow McLaren. He has served as the McLaren F1 reserve driver since 2022, although has never had to step in to race. He has tested the car and driven during Free Practice Sessions throughout the years.

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Ferrari reserve drivers

Guanyu Zhou

Following his loss of his seat with Stake F1 Team, Guanyu Zhou was announced as a reserve driver for Ferrari. He spent 4 years with the Ferrari Driver Academy form 2015-2018 before his 2022 F1 Debut. He likely brings sponsorship dollars as well as recent F1 experience to the Ferrari team.

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Antonio Giovinazzi

Antonio Giovinazzi was part of the Sauber (Alfa Romeo F1 Team) from 2019-2021 but has worked with Ferrari since 2017. He races full time in the World Endurance Championship for the #51 Ferrari Team.

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Red Bull reserve driver

Yuki Tsunoda

Yes, Yuki Tsunoda is a full time driver on the F1 Grid for the VCARB (Visa CashApp RB) Team! However, Red Bull and VCARB are sister teams and pull talent from the same pool of drivers. As the 'support' team of sorts to Red Bull Racing, VCARB drivers are often 'called up' for roles in Red Bull.

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Mercedes reserve drivers

Valterri Bottas

Valtteri Bottas is a legend of the Mercedes F1 Team - having won 10 Grands Prix and raced alongside Lewis Hamilton from 2017 - 2021. Bottas raced for Stake, when he was dropped along with Zhou Guanyu. Luckily, Bottas has been welcomed back into the Mercedes ranks to support the team. He will likely serve as a huge marketing tool for the team, as well as providing a wealth of knowledge from his F1 experience (and experience with the team in the past).

Frederick Vesti

Frederick Vesti was the runner up in the F2 Championship in 2023. He has been a member of the Mercedes Driver Academy for years and served as a reserve driver during the 2024 season, as well. Vesti races full time in IMSA in 2025 for Cadillac!

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Aston Martin reserve driver

Felipe Drugovich

Felipe Drugovich graduated from the Aston Martin driver development program in 2022 when he was crowned as the F2 Champion. He has served as the Aston Martin reserve driver since 2023 and will continue his duties. Drugovich often competes in Sports Car series including his recent drive at the 24 Hours of Daytona.

Stoffel Vandoorne

Stoffel Vandoorne was a Formula 1 Driver from 2016 - 2018 with McLaren. After little success, he moved into Formula E and SportsCar racing. He has served as the Aston Martin reserve for the past 2 seasons and will likely continue his role alongside his Formula E drive.

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Alpine reserve drivers

Franco Colapinto

Franco Colapinto will be joining Alpine as their primary reserve driver after serving as Williams reserve and then finishing out the 2024 season after replacing Logan Sargeant. He proved that he was a very talented driver, but could not find a full time F1 drive for 2025. He will likely be a massive marketing asset for Alpine and bring in sponsorship dollars (proven by his short stint with Williams).

Ryo Hirakawa

Alpine announced that Ryo Hirakawa joined the team as a testing and reserve driver - specifically citing that he will participate in FP1 at the Japanese Grand Prix. Hirakawa also served as a member of the McLaren Reserve Driver Program and is extremely successful in the World Endurance Championship (WEC).

Paul Aron

Paul Aron - previously a member of the Mercedes Driver Academy Program - finished the 2024 F2 Season in 3rd place before being announced as the reserve driver for Alpine. It was assumed that he would be the primary reserve driver, but the team later announced Franco Colapinto.

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Haas reserve driver

Pietro Fittipaldi

Although the Haas reserve driver is yet to be confirmed, Pietro Fittipaldi has served as one of the team reserves since 2019 - stepping into the car in 2020 when Romain Grosjean had his famous crash. Pietro is racing full-time in IMSA this season.

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VCARB reserve driver

Ayumu Iwasa

Ayumu Iwasa has been a very successful driver in the lower formulae (F4, F3, F2) and a member of the Red Bull Junior Team for years. In the past, he has stepped in for various testing duties and a couple of Free Practice Sessions.

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Stake reserve driver

Not yet announced (as of February 2025).

Last year's reserve drivers were Theo Pourchaire and Zane Maloney.

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Williams reserve driver

Not yet announced (as of February 2025)

Last year's reserve driver was Franco Colapinto who replaced Logan Sargeant mid-season.