Fernando Alonso will sit out Free Practice 1 at Formula 1’s Japanese Grand Prix, ceding his Aston Martin AMR26 to third driver Jak Crawford.
According to F1’s sporting regulations, every team must enter a rookie driver (two grand prix starts at most) on four occasions this season – two for each car. This normally occurs in FP1 sessions.
Other than Racing Bulls with newcomer Arvid Lindblad, Aston Martin is the first outfit to start fulfilling this requirement this year.
Alonso will therefore skip the first session at Suzuka, with Crawford getting his third FP1 outing with the squad after Mexico and Abu Dhabi last year.
“I’m really excited to get behind the wheel and drive for the team at Suzuka. It’s such a historic yet demanding circuit, and I can’t wait to apply what I’ve learned in the simulator to real track conditions,” the American said. “A big thank you to the team for giving me this opportunity. As with my previous FP1 sessions, I’m looking forward to making the most of it and learning as much as I can.”
Last year’s F2 runner-up has embarked on a racing-less campaign as Aston Martin’s third driver; he’s still chasing his F1 dream.
“I think ‘27 is, of course, my closest shot [to get a race seat in F1],” Crawford said at last year’s Las Vegas Grand Prix. “I’ll be hopefully still relevant then, after only a year out racing in F2, ending that well, and being in the paddock at all the races next year. I feel like it’s good to be around the paddock, it keeps your name on people’s mouths, people see you. So I think ‘27 is my best opportunity for a race seat.”
Jak Crawford, Aston Martin Racing
Photo by: Aston Martin Racing
Crawford was a natural choice for Aston Martin, with reserve driver Stoffel Vandoorne a two-season veteran with McLaren a decade ago, while academy driver Mari Boya is just making his debut in F2.
“It’s great that we’re able to give Jak another opportunity in FP1 as part of our ongoing commitment to developing young talent,” chief trackside officer Mike Krack said. “He has been working hard, especially in the simulator back at Silverstone, and this session will allow him to continue building valuable track experience. It’s an important opportunity for him to keep progressing, while also contributing to the team by gathering useful data and feedback.”
The upcoming Japanese Grand Prix might be another bruising experience on Honda’s turf, after Aston Martin’s season so far has been derailed by its new powertrain’s lack of reliability – vibrations from the engine damage batteries and even cause driver health concerns. As a consequence, the AMR26 can’t complete a full race distance.
Asked about his expectations for Suzuka right after the Shanghai race, Alonso replied: “Let’s see. Obviously, from Australia to China, we only had five days. The engine was exactly the same as in Australia.
“Now we have two weeks, so we need more time in the dyno. We need to give Honda more time to understand the vibrations and where they come from. And probably we fix the battery isolation [from vibrations]. All in all, we need to give Honda more time.”
Additional reporting by Filip Cleeren and Stuart Codling
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