Jak Crawford, the Charlotte native who finished runner-up in Formula 2 last season, is spending 2026 in Aston Martin green as the team's reserve driver—mostly logging simulator hours and occasional FP1 runs while chasing a full-time F1 seat. The 21-year-old started karting at six after growing up on NASCAR in Texas, climbed through Red Bull's junior program, then got sidelined when the team prioritized Isack Hadjar despite Crawford outperforming him in F2. Aston picked him up after a 2024 simulator evaluation, and he parlayed strong F2 results into the reserve role. Crawford's timeline is realistic: a full-time drive within two years, ideally with Aston, but he'll take what comes. His strength is high-speed corners and race pace—exactly what you need to prove in a development seat. If Stroll stumbles or Alonso ages out, Crawford's the American waiting in the wings.
Read the full story at Motorsport.comTHE NEXT GENERATION: JAK CRAWFORD
Jak Crawford, the Charlotte native who finished runner-up in Formula 2 last season, is spending 2026 in Aston Martin green as the team's reserve driver—mostly logging simulator hours and occasional FP1 runs while chasing a full-time F1 seat. The 21-year-old started karting at six after growing up on NASCAR in Texas, climbed through Red Bull's junior program, then got sidelined when the team prioritized Isack Hadjar despite Crawford outperforming him in F2. Aston picked him up after a 2024 simulator evaluation, and he parlayed strong F2 results into the reserve role. Crawford's timeline is realistic: a full-time drive within two years, ideally with Aston, but he'll take what comes. His strength is high-speed corners and race pace—exactly what you need to prove in a development seat. If Stroll stumbles or Alonso ages out, Crawford's the American waiting in the wings.
