Aston Martin reservist Jak Crawford has revealed it is his “dream” to be racing for the team in Formula 1, having now entered his third year as part of its line-up.
The American is an integral part of its race weekend team, providing key support for its race drivers as he tirelessly puts in hours in the sim for the Silverstone-based squad.
Crawford’s efforts have been key in helping the AMR26 become more reliable and competitive, a feat somewhat achieved last weekend at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
In what was the final race before F1’s summer break, Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso finished 13th and 14th respectively at the Hungaroring, signalling marked improvements.
This was also underlined by its achivement of making Q2 for the first time this season, which Alonso accomplished in qualifying on Saturday.
Crawford has no doubt worked hard to help the team gradually improve, step-by-step, more than likely growing his own stock.
Having finished second in Formula 2 last season, Crawford is without a competitive seat this season, and naturally holds lofty ambitions for a race seat in the future.
“I want to be racing full-time,” he admitted to Motorsport Week in an exclusive interview. “Of course, I want to be racing Formula 1 full-time.
“And I would love, of course, for that to be with Aston. If not with someone else, you know, it’s my dream. But, you know, if I’m in the same role for next year, I would love to try and do some kind of other series, whether IndyCar or Formula E or World Endurance Championship.
“There are so many things that intrigue me. And I think it would be good to do if it can fit into this. Of course, I want this to be my main priority, but I would love to also be able to drive some fast cars.”
How Formula E has helped Crawford get used to new F1 regulations
Formula E is a good baseline for Crawford. He spent last season in the same role he is in now, but with Andretti, which has also given him some rookie test opportunities. It is a series in which drivers have been forced to adapt to a unique skill – one of energy management.
In F1, that is now more crucial than ever, with the new regulations cycle headed-up by 50/50 hybrids. And it is probably no coincidence that, having continued to spend time in its paddock, that I have learned that almost half of the all-electric championship’s grid has, at some point this year, been doing simulator work with F1 teams.
For Crawford, it’s a skill he has been able to transfer into developing the AMR26.
“I was, yeah, reserve and test driver for Andretti last season, Formula E season. So, yeah, I had a lot of experience, doing all the preparation for race events and, being there at the races and the strange dynamic that the racing is,” he explains. “And I think when I first, you know, drove the cars, these 26 cars in the sim, you know, over a year and a half ago now, even more than that, you know, we were taking something from Formula E, from what I’ve learned in Formula E.
“You know, there’s also some other engineers in our team that have worked in Formula E before. So you’re taking all these different ideas from different experiences everyone’s had and trying to find the best solutions for them all, especially at the beginning when it was so difficult. Now, I feel like everyone, all the teams, all the engine manufacturers, they’ve all found the same way.
“They’ve all found the best way to work around this energy management stuff. So, yeah, definitely it helped me at the beginning kind of understand how to be efficient, I think, as well.”
A seat with Andretti is a closed shop for Crawford, with Jake Dennis and Felipe Drugovich locked in for Season 13, the first of the Gen4 era of FE.
But the trajectory Crawford is taking will no doubt see him pick up interest in some form of other ahead of next season.
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