Crawford Returns to the AMR26 for Austrian GP Free Practice 1
Aston Martin has confirmed that third driver Jak Crawford will replace Lance Stroll in Free Practice 1 at the 2026 Austrian Grand Prix. The session at the Red Bull Ring marks Crawford's fourth FP1 appearance for the team overall and his second of the 2026 season, following an earlier outing in Japan, and satisfies the second of Aston Martin's four mandatory rookie practice runs for the year.
Confirmed: Crawford steps into the AMR26 for Austrian FP1
Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team has confirmed that Third Driver Jak Crawford will participate in Free Practice One at the Austrian Grand Prix, driving Lance Stroll's AMR26 at the Red Bull Ring. [1] 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. [2]
Familiar ground 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. [1] 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. [1]
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. [1]
Stroll returns for FP2 and beyond
Crawford will take over Lance Stroll's AMR26 at the Red Bull Ring for the opening session, before the Canadian returns to the cockpit for the afternoon session. [3] Crawford's first 2026 outing came at Suzuka earlier this season, deputising for Fernando Alonso in the AMR26 amid the Spaniard's late arrival due to the birth of his first child. [3]
:::analysis Austria represents a meaningful data point for Aston Martin beyond simple regulatory compliance. The Red Bull Ring is one of Formula 1's shorter and more intense layouts, so any lap-time and tyre-behaviour feedback Crawford generates will connect directly to the team's simulator baseline in a way that is easier to validate than at a circuit he has never driven in an F1 car. With two mandatory sessions still to come in the second half of the season, the team has room to build on whatever the Friday hour produces here. :::
Related reading
[1]: Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team. "Jak Crawford to drive in FP1 at Austrian Grand Prix." astonmartinf1.com, accessed 2026-06-21. https://www.astonmartinf1.com/en-GB/news/announcement/jak-crawford-to-drive-in-fp1-at-austrian-grand-prix [2]: formula1.com. "Crawford to get another FP1 outing with Aston Martin in Austria." formula1.com, accessed 2026-06-21. https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/crawford-to-get-another-fp1-outing-with-aston-martin-in-austria.7bYOHaQgDjCUiBtjRSsU1I [3]: motorsportweek.com. "Aston Martin to hand junior driver second F1 2026 outing at Red Bull Ring." motorsportweek.com, accessed 2026-06-21. https://www.motorsportweek.com/2026/06/19/aston-martin-fp1-f1-austrian-gp/
- [1]Jak Crawford to drive in FP1 at Austrian Grand Prix (astonmartinf1). Accessed 2026-06-21.
- [2]Crawford to get another FP1 outing with Aston Martin in Austria (formula1). Accessed 2026-06-21.
- [3]Aston Martin to hand junior driver second F1 2026 outing at Red Bull Ring (motorsportweek). Accessed 2026-06-21.