Aston Martin Aramco has officially promoted Jak Crawford to the role of third driver for the 2026 Formula 1 season, elevating the 20-year-old Texan from his previous position as the team’s young driver to a role that places him one step away from a Grand Prix race seat alongside Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso.
Crawford, an F2 vice-champion and multi-race winner, confirmed the appointment in an extensive interview released by the team from the Yas Marina paddock. The American said the deal was agreed shortly after the 2025 summer break, following discussions that had been ongoing throughout the year.
“Quite early on in my Aston Martin Aramco career, I was aware the Third Driver role could be on the cards,” Crawford said. “That only added extra incentive and motivation, and it started looking like a real possibility. Soon after the summer break, we agreed the deal.”
The promotion marks a significant step for Crawford, who left his home in Texas at the age of 10 to pursue a career in European karting. He drove an F3 car for the first time at 15 and was competing in F2 by 17, a trajectory that outpaced many of his contemporaries. He joined Aston Martin Aramco in 2024 as the team’s young driver and has spent two years embedded in the operation, logging extensive hours in the simulator at the AMR Technology Campus and accumulating laps in the team’s F1 machinery.
In his expanded role, Crawford will attend every Grand Prix, participate in debriefs, provide engineering feedback, and remain on standby to replace either Stroll or Alonso should either driver be unable to compete. He will also continue simulator work and drive during Free Practice and test sessions, with the team expecting a steep development curve for the AMR26 under the new 2026 regulations.
“I need to be ready to replace either Lance or Fernando in case they can’t drive at a race weekend,” Crawford said. “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.”
Crawford acknowledged the psychological challenge of maintaining race readiness without the guarantee of competition. He said he is training harder than usual to compensate for the absence of regular racing and described the mental discipline required as a “balancing act.”
“I need to be ready but not get my hopes up,” he said. “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.”
The Texan said he does not plan to race in any other series during 2026, choosing instead to dedicate himself fully to the third driver role. With testing commitments added to the 24-race calendar, Crawford said more than half of his year is already accounted for. He described his departure from F2 as “bittersweet” but necessary, calling the move to Aston Martin’s expanded role the logical next step on his path toward a full-time F1 race seat.
“Staying with Aston Martin Aramco was an easy decision to make,” Crawford said. “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.”