F1 Reserve Drivers 2025: Who is next man up for Ferrari, Mercedes and co?

Bearman, F1, Ferrari, 2024, Jeddah, generic — Photo: © IMAGO

Reserve Drivers

F1 Reserve Drivers 2025: Who is next man up for Ferrari, Mercedes and co?

A look at the F1 reserve drivers for each team in 2025.

Stuart Hodge

Friday 8 March 2024 17:02 Updated: 16:11

F1's next generation of stars is on standby. We explore the reserve drivers who could be called upon throughout the 2025 season.

The 2025 season will bring a number of firsts for the teams, including Lewis Hamilton's first time being an F1 driver for Ferrari while Carlos Sainz has made the move to Williams.

It's also a line-up of six F1 rookies, with this being the highest amount since 2001.

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The young guns vying for success in the 2025 season include Kimi Antonelli, Oliver Bearman, Liam Lawson, Jack Doohan, Isack Hadjar and Gabriel Bortoleto.

As for this season's reserve pool, the drivers boast a mix of experience and raw talent. Teams like Mercedes have opted for a driver they already know, with Valtteri Bottas, an experienced member of the team, being the 2025 reserve driver.

Meanwhile, Red Bull has predominately focused on youth development in the past. In 2024, their reserve driver was Liam Lawson, who impressed during his substitute appearances for AlphaTauri (now Visa Cash App RB). Now, he's joining the ranks as an F1 driver.

With the gruelling F1 season prone to unexpected events, the reserve drivers could find themselves playing a much larger role than initially anticipated.

Now, let's take a look at the reserve drivers for each team on the grid.

Who are the F1 reserve drivers in 2024?

Here is a full list of the confirmed reserve drivers for 2024.

Red Bull & Racing Bulls

Red Bull and Racing Bulls are currently without an official reserve driver, as they haven't yet announced who will fill the position.

Last season, Liam Lawson took up the role for both the Red Bull and Visa Cash App RB teams, but he is now taking up the old seat of Sergio Perez as he joins Max Verstappen as a main driver.

The New Zealander impressed back in 2023 when he stepped in for an injured Daniel Ricciardo at VCARB, consistently outperformed teammate Yuki Tsunoda, and even scored points during his stint.

Ferrari

The Scuderia bolsters its reserve options with two experienced drivers, with both having previously competed.

Zhou Guanyu, who drove for Alfa Romeo and Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber, has been announced as Ferrari's reserve driver alongside the Italian Antonio Giovinazzi.

Giovinazzi made his debut in 2017 at the Australian Grand Prix when he was called in to replace an injured Pascal Wehrlein.

Mercedes

Valtteri Bottas is Mercedes reserve driver for the 2025 season, which ensures his wealth of knowledge remains back in the team.

After previously being team-mates with Lewis Hamilton, Bottas then found himself driving for Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber. Now, he'll be in the reserve seat for his old boss Toto Wolff.

Alpine

Alpine previously had Jack Doohan as the reserve driver, but he will now make up one-half of the team's F1 driver line-up.

Now, three reserve drivers have been announced which includes Franco Colapinto, Ryo Hirakawa and Paul Aron.

Colapinto now has F1 race experience as he replaced Logan Sargeant at the end of the 2024 season for Williams.

Aston Martin

2022 Formula 2 champion Felipe Drugovic has once again been recruited as a reserve driver behind Lance Stroll and two-time world champion Fernando Alonso.

Stoffel Vandoorne is another reserve driver for the Aston Martin team in 2025.

McLaren

Like some of the other teams, McLaren hasn't yet officially announced the chosen reserve driver.

However, it was IndyCar driver Pato O'Ward who was McLaren's reserve driver last season.

Kick Sauber

Kick Sauber hasn't called out a reserve driver for the upcoming season.

Last season, Theo Pourchaire, the 2023 F2 champion, and Zane Maloney, the 2022 Formula 3 Rookie of the Year, were the two youngsters in the team.

Haas

The Haas reserve drivers are also yet to be confirmed.

Previously, Pietro Fittipaldi has been the reserve driver with the Brazilian filling the role behind Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg in 2024.

Williams

Williams is another team that has not announced a reserve for 2025. In previous years, Williams have been able to call on the Mercedes reserve pool if needed.

Team	Reserve Driver(s)
Red Bull	TBC
Mercedes	Valtteri Bottas
Ferrari	Zhou Guanyu, Antonio Giovinazzi
McLaren	TBC
Aston Martin	Felipe Drugovich,Stoffel Vandoorne
Alpine	Franco Colapinto, Ryo Hirakawa, Paul Aron
Haas	TBC
Stake F1 Team	TBC
Racing Bulls	TBC
Williams	TBC