Aston Martin hands Jak Crawford FP1 seat for Austrian Grand Prix
Aston Martin has confirmed that third driver Jak Crawford will drive Lance Stroll's AMR26 in Free Practice 1 at the 2026 Austrian Grand Prix. It is Crawford's fourth FP1 appearance for the team overall and his second of the current season, fulfilling the second of Aston Martin's four mandated rookie practice sessions under F1 regulations.
Crawford confirmed for FP1 at the Red Bull Ring
Aston Martin have announced that their third driver, Jak Crawford, will take part in his latest Free Practice 1 session at the Austrian Grand Prix.
Crawford will drive Lance Stroll's AMR26 at the Red Bull Ring. Stroll returns to the cockpit for FP2 and the remainder of the weekend.[4]
It will mark Crawford's fourth FP1 appearance for Aston Martin and his second of the 2026 season, after Japan, while ticking off the second of the team's four mandated rookie practice runs for the year. [1] Under F1's rules, teams are required to field a rookie driver in four FP1 sessions, two in each car, over the course of a season. [3]
Japan set the precedent earlier in 2026
Aston Martin ran Crawford for the first time this season at Suzuka, in part to allow Fernando Alonso to arrive in Japan later than usual as a result of the birth of his first child. [5] The 21-year-old lapped slowest of all in FP1 at Suzuka, trailing Stroll by one second. [3]
Crawford has never raced in an F1 grand prix but has taken part in a few practice sessions over the past couple of seasons, stepping into the AMR25 for FP1 in Mexico and Abu Dhabi last year. He then returned to the track at the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix earlier this year, having been named Aston Martin's official third driver for 2026 following the departure of Felipe Drugovich. [4]
Barcelona tyre test feeds directly into Austria
Off the back of a Pirelli tyre test with the team in Barcelona earlier this week, Crawford is due to take over Lance Stroll's AMR26 for the opening one-hour session at the Red Bull Ring, a circuit he knows well from his F2 and F3 campaigns. [1] While many teams opted to use up a rookie FP1 outing in Barcelona last weekend, Crawford's next opportunity was pushed back to Austria, where he has also tested Formula 1 cars in the past. [5]
A familiar circuit for the American
Fresh from completing a Pirelli tyre test with the team in Barcelona earlier this week, Crawford will return to the cockpit in Austria, a circuit he knows well through previous testing programmes and his FIA Formula 2 and Formula 3 campaigns, where he claimed victories in both categories. The outing also comes two years after Crawford's first experience in an Aston Martin Aramco Formula One car, when he tested the AMR22 at the Red Bull Ring in June 2024. [2]
Since then, the American has become an integral part of the team's driver development programme and has accumulated more than 3,800 kilometres in Formula One machinery. [2]
:::analysis Crawford arrives at the Red Bull Ring in arguably the strongest position he has held within the Aston Martin programme. A Pirelli tyre test in Barcelona midweek, combined with steady simulator involvement throughout 2026, means the data he generates in FP1 carries more context than an isolated rookie run. For a team working through a difficult competitive period, the alignment of compliance obligation and development utility in a single session is straightforward good resource management. The fact that Stroll, not Alonso, loses FP1 time again also means Aston Martin's more experienced race driver keeps his Friday programme intact. :::
Related reading
[1]: formula1.com, "Crawford to get another FP1 outing with Aston Martin in Austria," accessed 2026-06-19. https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/crawford-to-get-another-fp1-outing-with-aston-martin-in-austria.7bYOHaQgDjCUiBtjRSsU1I [2]: astonmartinf1.com, "Jak Crawford to drive in FP1 at Austrian Grand Prix," accessed 2026-06-19. https://www.astonmartinf1.com/en-GB/news/announcement/jak-crawford-to-drive-in-fp1-at-austrian-grand-prix [3]: planetf1.com, "Lance Stroll replaced as Aston Martin makes Austrian GP FP1 announcement," accessed 2026-06-19. https://www.planetf1.com/news/lance-stroll-aston-martin-austrian-grand-prix-2026-fp1 [4]: gpfans.com, "Aston Martin announce F1 star Lance Stroll replacement at Austrian Grand Prix," accessed 2026-06-19. https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/1086306/aston-martin-f1-lance-stroll-replacement-austrian-grand-prix-jak-crawford/ [5]: racer.com, "Crawford to get next Aston Martin FP1 run in Austria," accessed 2026-06-19. https://racer.com/2026/06/19/crawford-to-get-next-aston-martin-fp1-run-in-austria
- [1]Crawford to get another FP1 outing with Aston Martin in Austria (formula1). Accessed 2026-06-19.
- [2]Jak Crawford to drive in FP1 at Austrian Grand Prix (astonmartinf1). Accessed 2026-06-19.
- [3]Lance Stroll replaced as Aston Martin makes Austrian GP FP1 announcement (planetf1). Accessed 2026-06-19.
- [4]Aston Martin announce F1 star Lance Stroll replacement at Austrian Grand Prix (gpfans). Accessed 2026-06-19.
- [5]Crawford to get next Aston Martin FP1 run in Austria (racer). Accessed 2026-06-19.