Rarely are they called upon but Formula 1 teams more often than not keep a test and reserve driver locked away for safekeeping, ready to be put in the car if required.
In recent seasons, F1 has seen some memorable replacement drivers, with some even coming close to winning races and scoring podiums during their one-off stints in the car.
In 2020, Nico Hulkenberg qualified his Racing Point in the top three at Silverstone, despite only being a stand-in driver.
Later that season, it was young George Russell who stole the show in Bahrain when he was on course to win the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix, piloting Lewis Hamilton's car, before tyre confusion spared Valtteri Bottas' blushes.
But who are the drivers who could be called upon this season? Here are all the test and reserve drivers confirmed by teams so far, with some being shared across the grid by multiple teams...
F1 2022 test and reserve drivers
Team | Test/Reserve driver(s) |
---|---|
Mercedes | Stoffel Vandoorne and Nyck de Vries |
Red Bull | Sebastien Buemi |
Ferrari | Mick Schumacher and Antonio Giovinazzi |
McLaren | TBC |
Alpine | Oscar Piastri |
Aston Martin | Nico Hulkenberg |
Williams | Roy Nissany |
AlphaTauri | Sebastien Buemi |
Alfa Romeo | Robert Kubica and Antonio Giovinazzi |
Haas | Pietro Fittipaldi and Antonio Giovinazzi |
Other drivers to look out for in 2022
Despite not being official test and reserve drivers, there are set to be a number of young stars taking part in F1 practice sessions over the course of the 2022 season, thanks to a new FIA rule.
Each team must put aside two FP1 sessions for young drivers eligible for an FIA Super Licence who have competed in fewer than three F1 races.
That could see the likes of Liam Lawson, Juri Vips, Jehan Daruvala and Theo Pourchaire on the timesheets this season.
McLaren, meanwhile, are yet to officially announce their test and reserve drivers for 2022, but would be likely to turn to Mercedes' pool of stars, as they did during 2021. That pool includes De Vries and Vandoorne.
Also interesting:
F1 Podcast: All you need to know after the first pre-season test
At the end of the first pre-season test of 2022 in Barcelona, Dieter Rencken and Thomas Maher discuss the on- and off-track developments so far.
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