The 2025 F1 season begins at Albert Park in Melbourne next Sunday, with some reserve drivers looking on jealously as they see the 20 full-time drivers race.
But who are they? And if they get a chance, can they repeat the heroics of Oliver Bearman and Franco Colapinto from last year? The full list is below.
With F1 reserve drivers having four opportunities to run in practice this year, expect to see some of the rookies on track a few times during FP1s. It does not apply to the likes of Guanyu, Giovinazzi and Bottas, however.
McLaren Racing
Pato O’Ward
Arrow McLaren IndyCar driver Pato O’Ward is set to continue in his role as reserve at selected races. The Mexican has a busy and condensed schedule over the coming months on the other side of the Atlantic, so he will not be available for a number of events.
Should Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri need replacing for whatever reason on a race weekend when the two-time Indy 500 runner-up is not there, getting Valtteri Bottas from Mercedes seems the most likely option.
Scuderia Ferrari
Zhou Guanyu and Antonio Giovinazzi
Last month Scuderia Ferrari F1 confirmed that Zhou Guanyu and Antonio Giovinazzi would be their reserve drivers for 2025. The Chinese driver is very much the leading option should Charles Leclerc or Lewis Hamilton miss a race.
The 25-year-old has plenty of experience of the ground effect cars following his three seasons at Sauber that came to an end last year, while Giovinazzi has a busy schedule in WEC with Ferrari on top of his commitments with the Scuderia in F1.
Red Bull Racing
Yuki Tsunoda
Although there has never been any official confirmation of Yuki Tsunoda taking the role as Red Bull reserve driver in 2025 should Max Verstappen or Liam Lawson miss a race, the Japanese driver from Racing Bulls is the likely option with his years of experience in the sport.
The four-time World Champion from the Netherlands heads into 2025 on 8 penalty points. A race ban is not out of the question. It could give Tsunoda one big shot to impress in the big squad and secure his F1 future beyond 2025.
Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team
Valtteri Bottas and Frederik Vesti
After a three-year spell at Sauber that Bottas was left to rue, the Finn has dropped off the F1 grid and become a reserve back at his old team Mercedes.
Like his former teammate Zhou Guanyu at Ferrari, the 10-time race winner is the first choice should George Russell or Kimi Antonelli be forced to miss an event. 2023 F2 runner-up Frederik Vesti is another option should the Finnish driver be unavailable.
Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team
Felipe Drugovich and Stoffel Vandoorne
With Fernando Alonso showing no signs of slowing down, and Lance Stroll having the safest seat in the sport, Felipe Drugovich remains the reserve driver for the Aston Martin F1 team for a third consecutive season. It’s a role he’ll share with Formula E World Champion and former McLaren driver Stoffel Vandoorne.
The Belgian’s Formula E activities should mean Drugovich is first choice at most rounds if Alonso or Stroll had to miss a race. Like Verstappen, the Spaniard sits on 8 penalty points, although he will have some chalked off a day after the Chinese GP.
BWT Alpine F1 Team
Franco Colapinto, Paul Aron and Rio Hirakawa
Argentina’s Franco Colapinto is one of the big stories heading into the 2025 F1 season, even if he is just a reserve driver for Alpine at present. Pit Debrief learned a couple of months ago that Jack Doohan has six events to prove himself or he could face the axe. Keeping Pierre Gasly very honest will be key for him to complete the season.
Alongside Colapinto, Alpine also have Rio Hirakawa and Paul Aron on their books if Gasly, Doohan or potentially even Colapinto later in the season had to miss a race. The Estonian is very familiar to team boss Oliver Oakes as they worked together at Hitech in F2 last year. Hirakawa moves across from McLaren.
MoneyGram Haas F1 Team
Pietro Fittipaldi
After a very disappointing season at the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing IndyCar squad last year, Brazilian Pietro Fittipaldi looks set to have more time on his hands again this year as he was dropped.
While he confirmed earlier this week that he is driving in ELMS, that consists of only six events. Should Bearman or Ocon need replacing, it’s likely Haas will have Zhou Guanyu and Antonio Giovinazzi as options as well considering their ties with Scuderia Ferrari.
Racing Bulls
Ayumu Iwasa
Japan’s Ayumu Iwasa is likely to be the option for Racing Bulls should Yuki Tsunoda or Isack Hadjar miss a race. Another scenario could see him get a shot if Max Verstappen is banned for a race and Yuki Tsunoda steps up to Red Bull Racing.
The 23-year-old was a five-time race winner in F2, finishing P4 overall in 2023. He’s back in his native Japan racing Super Formula at present. Iwasa is championship leader after the opening round at Suzuka this weekend.
Iwasa also ran with Racing Bulls at Suzuka last year in FP1 alongside fellow home hero Yuki Tsunoda.
Williams Racing
Luke Browning
Following Franco Colapinto’s move to Alpine thanks to his exploits for Williams in the second part of 2024 when Logan Sargeant was replaced, the Grove-based team has Luke Browning as their reserve driver this year. What we do know is Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon will not be missing a race because of appendicitis.
The 23-year-old British driver finished 3rd in the F3 championship last year. He steps up to F2 in 2025, driving for Hitech. Browning will be around and available should he be needed.
If Williams wants more experience, Valtteri Bottas could be a potential option if required.
Sauber F1 Team
TBA
Heading into the final year under the Sauber name before Audi take the reigns in 2026, who will be the F1 reserve driver(s) for the team in 2025 remains a mystery. Former Sauber juniors Theo Pourchaire and Zane Maloney have moved on to pastures new.
If Nico Hülkenberg or Gabriel Bortoleto did miss a race, options appear limited. Sauber may need some help from Ferrari if they are a driver down. Zhou Guanyu and Antonio Giovinazzi have previously driven for the team.
