When Lawrence Stroll completed his investment in the Racing Point F1 Team and facilitated the rebranding to Aston Martin F1 Team for the 2021 season, the new identity came with an ambition to build the infrastructure of a front-running constructor from the ground up. Driver development was identified as a necessary component of that long-term build. The programme operates alongside the team's investment in a major new factory campus at Silverstone and partnerships with sponsors including Aramco.
The Aston Martin Driver Programme does not function as a closed academy in the model of the Ferrari Driver Academy or Red Bull Junior Team. Instead, the team has maintained a roster of affiliated drivers in reserve, test, and development roles alongside its two race seats, held from 2023 onwards by Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.
Felipe Drugovich, the 2022 FIA Formula 2 Championship winner, was signed as the team's official reserve and development driver for the 2023 season, providing race-ready backup capability and participating in the team's testing and simulator programme. Stoffel Vandoorne joined as test and reserve driver in 2023, sharing the reserve role with Drugovich. Nico Hülkenberg previously served as reserve and development driver during the 2021 and 2022 seasons before departing for a race seat with Haas.
Jessica Hawkins has served as a driver ambassador for the team since 2021, with the former W Series driver completing a test run in the AMR21 in 2023, becoming one of the few women to drive a contemporary Formula 1 car in a track session.
Unlike the most prominent academy programmes, Aston Martin has not publicly seeded large cohorts of drivers into junior series under its own branding. The team's development relationships have been conducted in part through connections to Ferrari — given Aston Martin's use of Mercedes power units and its design philosophy — but direct Aston Martin-branded junior placements in Formula 3 or Formula 4 have been limited compared to the major manufacturer programmes. The team's reserve and test driver framework has placed greater emphasis on retaining senior, experienced drivers in proximity to the race operation.
Drugovich's departure from the programme after 2024, when he signed with an Andretti Global Formula E entry for the 2025-26 season, illustrated how the development role can also serve as a route to drives elsewhere when the race seats remain occupied by established grand prix drivers under long-term contracts.
The driver development programme exists within the context of Aston Martin's wider ambition to become a regular championship contender. The team's 2023 season, in which Fernando Alonso delivered multiple podium finishes, demonstrated the pace of on-track development. The arrival of Adrian Newey as technical director in 2026 and the transition to a works Honda power unit partnership represented further steps in that trajectory. The driver programme is expected to grow in scope as the team's infrastructure — including the new wind tunnel and expanded Silverstone factory — reaches full operational capacity and the team's competitive standing justifies investment in a more structured junior development pathway.
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