McLaren set to share Mercedes F1 reserve drivers again
McLaren will continue to share reserve drivers with Mercedes in Formula 1 this year as part of a continued agreement between the two teams.
McLaren raced without its own nominated reserve driver last season after agreeing to call on Mercedes' back-ups if needed, with the agreement to remain in place this year should circumstances arise where a stand-in driver is required.
Mercedes currently has Formula E drivers Stoffel Vandoorne and Nyck de Vries already locked in as its official reserves and both are familiar with McLaren.
Vandoorne raced for the operation in 2017 and 2018, and logic suggests that it would be relatively easy for the Belgian to step if needed.
De Vries was previously a McLaren junior driver, although he didn’t sample an F1 car until he handled a Mercedes in the Abu Dhabi test in December.
“On our side we will do the same again as last year,” said team principal Andreas Seidl.
“We will have an agreement again with Toto, with Mercedes, to use their reserve drivers in case of an emergency. We’re happy with that.”
While McLaren has revealed its plans regarding reserve drivers, Mercedes has been in discussion with free-agent Nico Hulkenberg as a potential super sub if one of its reserves is unavailable.
Vandoorne and de Vries both have Formula E commitments that currently collide with Spanish, Monaco and Azerbaijan GPs in the first part of the year, and there could be further clashes later in the season.
Mercedes hopes to have Hulkenberg available for those weekends, potentially sharing the German’s services with partner team Aston Martin.
Hulkenberg stood in three times at the former Racing Point outfit in 2020, when first Sergio Perez and then Lance Stroll were sidelined after positive COVID tests.
“There is a situation that our two reserve drivers, Stoffel and Nyck, are racing in Formula E and there are certain races where there is an overlap,” said Wolff when asked by Motorsport.com about Mercedes' talks with Hulkenberg.
“I think Nico knows the current generation of F1 cars and the tyres. And it would be good to have him in the line-up as a solution, maybe to be shared with other teams, because he’s a known quantity and well respected.
“It would be good, but it’s not [done] yet, we didn’t put pen to paper.”
It’s understood that Hulkenberg is talking to Aston Martin about reprising his reserve role in 2021, but as is the case with Mercedes, no deal has been agreed.
Share Or Save This Story
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
‘I’ll put a pillow under his butt’ – How Toto Wolff wants to solve Kimi Antonelli’s track limits problem
George Russell calls Red Bull "the team to beat" in F1, but Kimi Antonelli adds a key caveat
How the Bahrain GP in Malaysia exposed Red Bull’s hidden resurgence
WSJ Report: NASCAR is building 80+ race cars for Days of Thunder sequel
Brennan Poole to leave Alpha Prime Racing; team owners 'disappointed' to see him go
Oscar Piastri on his Singapore puncture: “Ironically, it probably helped”
Winners and losers from NASCAR Cup at Charlotte after dramatic finish
'Senior moment' or breakdown of trust? The implications of Hamilton's Singapore GP meltdown
What we learned from the 2026 F1 Singapore GP sprint and qualifying
How Honda plans a return to being an F1 powerhouse
Why Red Bull's 'crazy' power unit success matters so much for F1
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments