Breaking news
Formula 1
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.
Adam Cooper
Published: Mar 12, 2021, 3:11 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
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.”
Read Also:
- Ricciardo quickest as Mercedes, Ferrari hit trouble in F1 test
- Teams happy with F1 sprint race plans ahead of Bahrain meeting
- DTM made failed bid for Hulkenberg to race Lamborghini
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.
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Teams happy with F1 sprint race plans ahead of Bahrain meeting
Next article Verstappen ends first day of F1 pre-season testing on top
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Adam Cooper
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Formula 1
Formula 1
Japanese GP
Apr 10, 2024
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Formula 1
Formula 1 Apr 10, 2024
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
Formula 1
Formula 1 Apr 10, 2024
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
More from
Mercedes
‘Lewis suspected a conspiracy’ – Nico Rosberg explains how Lewis Hamilton F1 rivalry went awry at Mercedes
Formula 1
Formula 1 16 h
‘Lewis suspected a conspiracy’ – Nico Rosberg explains how Lewis Hamilton F1 rivalry went awry at Mercedes
Kimi Antonelli meets Italian president Sergio Mattarella
Formula 1
Formula 1 22 h
Kimi Antonelli meets Italian president Sergio Mattarella
Latest news
The ten closest finishes from the 2026 NASCAR season
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup 15 h
The ten closest finishes from the 2026 NASCAR season
‘Lewis suspected a conspiracy’ – Nico Rosberg explains how Lewis Hamilton F1 rivalry went awry at Mercedes
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1 16 h
‘Lewis suspected a conspiracy’ – Nico Rosberg explains how Lewis Hamilton F1 rivalry went awry at Mercedes
BMW "proud of what we achieved" after securing runner-up in 2026 WEC
WEC
WEC WEC
Monza
17 h
BMW "proud of what we achieved" after securing runner-up in 2026 WEC
The numbers that reveal how sprint races have turned the MotoGP title fight upside down
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Qatar GP
19 h
The numbers that reveal how sprint races have turned the MotoGP title fight upside down
Feature
Discover prime content
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Formula 1
By Kevin Turner
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
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.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe