McLaren Driver Development Programme

The McLaren Driver Development Programme (formerly known as the McLaren Young Driver Programme, the McLaren-Honda Young Driver Programme, and the McLaren-Mercedes Young Driver Support Programme) is a driver development program operated by McLaren. It is intended to offer year-by-year guidance, assistance and endorsement to help promising young racers climb the motorsport ladder.

McLaren Driver Development Programme
Founded1998 (1998)
BaseWoking, Surrey, England, UK
Team principal(s)Emanuele Pirro[1]
Current driversWEC
Japan Ryō Hirakawa
IndyCar
Mexico Pato O'Ward[1]
Formula 3
Brazil Gabriel Bortoleto
Italian F4
United States Ugo Ugochukwu[1]
F1 Academy
Philippines Bianca Bustamante

The most notable participant in the programme is Lewis Hamilton, who joined the programme while karting and eventually graduated to the McLaren F1 Team. He has won the Formula One Drivers' Championship seven times between 2008 and 2020, where the 2008 championship was won with McLaren. Hamilton is currently the only graduate from the programme who has won a World Championship as a McLaren driver.

Four drivers have graduated from the programme to the McLaren F1 Team: Lewis Hamilton in 2007, Kevin Magnussen in 2014, Stoffel Vandoorne in 2016, and Lando Norris in 2019.

History

The programme was founded in 1998 by McLaren and Mercedes as the McLaren-Mercedes Young Driver Support Programme. The programme signed Wesley Graves and Lewis Hamilton as one of its first drivers.

From 2019 to 2021, no drivers were part of the program, which McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown said was due to the team's "very targeted" approach and already stable Formula One line-up, meaning it would be difficult for any young drivers to find a place in Formula One.[2][3] In March 2021, American karting driver Ugo Ugochukwu was recruited into the programme.[4]

In April 2023, the Young Driver Programme was replaced by the Driver Development Programme.[1] Later in October, the programme signed its first female driver in Bianca Bustamante.[5]

Drivers

Current
Driver Since Current series Titles achieved as McLaren Driver Development Programme member
United States Ugo Ugochukwu[4] 2021 Formula 4 UAE Championship
Italian F4 Championship
Euro 4 Championship		 Euro 4 Championship
Mexico Pato O'Ward[1] 2023 IndyCar none as McLaren Driver Development Programme member
Japan Ryō Hirakawa[6] 2023 Super Formula
FIA World Endurance Championship		 none as McLaren Driver Development Programme member
Brazil Gabriel Bortoleto[7] 2023 FIA Formula 3 Championship none as McLaren Driver Development Programme member
Philippines Bianca Bustamante[5] 2023 Formula 4 UAE Championship
F1 Academy
Italian F4 Championship
USF Juniors
Formula 4 South East Asia Championship		 none as McLaren Driver Development Programme member

Former
Driver Years Series competed F1 team(s)
United Kingdom Wesley Graves[8][9] 1998 Karting (1998) None
United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton[10] 1998–2006 Karting (1998–2001)
British Formula Renault Championship (2002–2003)
Formula 3 Euro Series (2004–2005)
GP2 Series (2006)		 McLaren (2007–2012)
Mercedes (2013–present)
China Cheng Congfu[11] 2003–2006 British Formula Renault Championship (2003–2006) None
Netherlands Giedo van der Garde 2006–2010 Formula 3 Euro Series (2006)
Formula Renault 3.5 Series (2007–2008)
GP2 Series (2009–2010)		 Caterham (2013)
United Kingdom Oliver Rowland 2007–2010 Karting (2007–2010) None
Thailand Alexander Albon 2010 Karting (2010) Toro Rosso (2019)
Red Bull Racing (2019–2020)
Williams (2022–present)
United Kingdom Jack Harvey 2010 Formula BMW Europe (2010) None
Finland Petri Suvanto[12] 2010 Formula BMW Europe (2010) None
United Kingdom Oliver Turvey 2010–2011 GP2 Series (2010–2011) None
Denmark Kevin Magnussen[10] 2010–2013 German Formula Three Championship (2010)
British Formula 3 International Series (2011)
Formula Renault 3.5 Series (2012–2013)		 McLaren (2014–2015)
Renault (2016)
Haas (2017–2020; 2022–present)
United Kingdom Ben Barnicoat 2010–2015 Karting (2010–2013)
Formula Renault 2.0 NEC (2014)
Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 (2014–2015)		 None
Netherlands Nyck de Vries[13] 2010–2018 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 (2012–2014)
Formula Renault 2.0 Alps (2013–2014)
Formula Renault 3.5 Series (2015)
GP3 Series (2016)
FIA Formula 2 Championship (2017–2018)		 Williams (2022)
AlphaTauri (2023)
United Kingdom Tom Blomqvist[14] 2012 FIA Formula 3 European Championship (2012) None
Singapore Andrew Tang[15] 2012 Karting (2012) None
Belgium Stoffel Vandoorne[10] 2013–2016 Formula Renault 3.5 Series (2013)
GP2 Series (2014–2015)		 McLaren (2016–2018)
Japan Nobuharu Matsushita[16] 2015–2017 GP2 Series (2015–2016)
FIA Formula 2 Championship (2017)		 None
Japan Nirei Fukuzumi 2016–2017 GP3 Series (2016–2017) None
United Kingdom Lando Norris[17] 2017–2018 FIA Formula 3 European Championship (2017)
FIA Formula 2 Championship (2018)		 McLaren (2019–present)
Brazil Sérgio Sette Câmara[18] 2019 FIA Formula 2 Championship (2019) None
Spain Álex Palou[19][20] 2023 IndyCar Series (2023) None
  • Championship titles highlighted in bold.

See also

Notes

    References
    1. "McLAREN ANNOUNCES NEW DRIVER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME". McLaren.com. McLaren.
    2. van Osten, Phillip (24 December 2020). "Brown: Lack of McLaren young drivers due to 'different philosophy'". F1i.com. Archived from the original on 24 December 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
    3. Smith, Luke (23 December 2020). "McLaren sticking to "targeted" approach for F1 young driver programme". Autosport.com. Archived from the original on 26 December 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
    4. "McLaren sign long-term deal with 13-year-old American karting ace Ugo Ugochukwu". www.formula1.com. 22 March 2021. Archived from the original on 24 October 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
    5. "McLaren sign F1 Academy's Bianca Bustamante as first female member of Driver Development Programme". Formula 1®. 18 October 2023. Archived from the original on 24 October 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
    6. Jogia, Saajan (22 September 2023). "F1 News: McLaren Takes on New Reserve Driver". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on 24 October 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
    7. Wood, Ida (5 October 2023). "McLaren signs Bortoleto as junior, makes Badoer an 'optioned driver'". Formula Scout. Archived from the original on 24 October 2023. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
    8. Noble, Jonathan. "Futures on Fast Forward". Atlas F1. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
    9. "Mclaren Sign Kart Drivers". Crash. 9 April 1998. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
    10. "FAITH IN YOUTH: McLaren's young driver track record". Formula1.com. 5 September 2018. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
    11. De Groote, Steven (6 August 2003). "McLaren signs Cheng Congfu". F1 Technical. Archived from the original on 23 October 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
    12. "McLaren tukee suomalaislupausta". sportti.com. 19 March 2010. Archived from the original on 16 March 2017. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
    13. Wood, Elliot (6 May 2019). "Nyck de Vries' split with McLaren confirmed". Formula Scout. Archived from the original on 29 November 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
    14. "Stig's son joins McLaren". The Telegraph. 26 February 2012. Archived from the original on 6 February 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
    15. de Cotta, Ian (10 February 2014). "Tang wins big in New Zealand". Today Online.
    16. "2017 McLaren-Honda Young Driver Programme members revealed". McLaren Racing. 22 February 2017. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
    17. "Lando Norris joins McLaren F1 young driver programme". GP Today. 2017. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
    18. Wood, Elliot (9 March 2020). "Sergio Sette Camara leaves McLaren for return to Red Bull". Formula Scout. Archived from the original on 23 October 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
    19. Fryer, Jenna (28 July 2022). "IndyCar champ Palou declares he will be at McLaren in 2023". AP News. Archived from the original on 24 October 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
    20. Martin, Bruce (18 August 2023). "McLaren And Arrow McLaren File Lawsuit Against Alex Palou". Forbes. Archived from the original on 24 October 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
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