Welcome at RacingNews365

Become part of the largest racing community in the United Kingdom. Create your free account now!

  • Share your thoughts and opinions about F1
  • Win fantastic prizes
  • Get access to our premium content
  • Take advantage of more exclusive benefits
Sign in
Aston Martin

Aston Martin announce driver change for Austrian GP first practice

Aston Martin is to fill the second of its four mandatory slots during the Austrian Grand Prix weekend.

Stroll FP3 Barcelona
Article
To news overview © XPBimages

Aston Martin has announced that Jak Crawford will deputise for Lance Stroll during the first practice session at next week's Austrian Grand Prix.

American driver Crawford has completed one FP1 session for the team so far in 2026, for Fernando Alonso in Japan, and will now take over Stroll's AMR26 for the first 60 minutes of practice.

It will be Crawford's fourth FP1 outing for Aston Martin, following appearances at the 2025 Mexico City and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix before Suzuka in March. 

The F1 rules state that each regular race driver must hand their car over twice per person to a young driver who has not competed in more than two grands prix, with Crawford's Austria outing meaning Aston Martin will have now completed two of its four slots. 

Both Alonso and Stroll will be required to step out for one more FP1 session each later in the season.

Crawford has also gained more hands-on experience with the 2026 machine, having completed a Pirelli tyre test in Barcelona earlier this week. 

"It's great to have another opportunity to drive the AMR26 during a race weekend," said Crawford.

"Austria is a circuit I know well, and it's quite special to be returning to the Red Bull Ring with the team, almost two years after my first test in an Aston Martin F1 car. 

"I've spent a lot of time in the simulator this season supporting the team and recently completed the tyre test in Barcelona, so I'm looking forward to applying that work on track.

"Every opportunity in a Formula 1 car is valuable, and I'll be focused on delivering useful feedback and maximising the session for the team."

Chief trackside officer Mike Krack added that Crawford's latest outing was another "valuable step" in his development.

"Jak continues to play an important role as Third Driver, and this FP1 session is another valuable step in that process," Krack said.

"He has been heavily involved in our simulator programme throughout the season and recently completed productive running during the Pirelli tyre test in Barcelona. 

"Austria provides another opportunity for us to evaluate his progress in a race weekend environment while gathering valuable data for the team."

Jak Crawford (USA) Aston Martin F1 Team Reserve Driver.
13.06.2026. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 7, Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, Barcelona, Spain, Qualifying Day.
- www.xpbimages.com, EMail: requests@xpbimages.com © Copyright: Rew / XPB Images © XPBimages

Also interesting:

Join RacingNews365's Samuel Coop and Nick Golding as they look back on last weekend's Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix! Lewis Hamilton's first win for Ferrari is a major talking point, as is the growing concern that Mercedes has a serious reliability issue.

Rather watch this podcast? Then click here!

Get the latest F1 news from RacingNews365 directly in your Google feed! Click on the link below and you’ll see your favourite F1 website appearing even more often. That way, you’ll never miss any news, analyses, interviews, or exclusives.

Follow RacingNews365 on Google

Join the conversation!

Never miss a thing from the Formula 1 season! Add the 2026 F1 schedule to your calendar at the touch of a button. Subscribe below and put the dates and times of every race directly on your PC or smartphone, so you don't miss a second from the new season.

Download the F1 calendar Download the F1 calendar

A variant with just the race and qualifying is also available.
Click here to download it..

F1 calendar 2026
Race Date
aut Austrian GP 28 Jun 2026
gbr British GP 05 Jul 2026
bel Belgian GP 19 Jul 2026
hun Hungarian GP 26 Jul 2026
nld Dutch GP 23 Aug 2026
ita Italian GP 06 Sep 2026
Full calendar
x
LATEST Max Verstappen manager provides F1 contract update: 'We want to make a decision'