F1 reserve driver contracts buy a driver’s time long before they buy a race start. Fred Vesti described the arrangement neatly in February: he already knew how Mercedes’ W17 felt through the simulator before seeing the finished car. His hands knew the responses. His eyes still needed the unveiling.
In his first Mercedes diary of 2026, Vesti explained that his third-driver role meant more trackside work after a more part-time assignment. Meanwhile, he continued racing in IMSA. The Mercedes opportunity brought him closer to Formula 1, but another championship still supplied the racing.
Teams need someone prepared to handle their machinery at short notice. Drivers need mileage, income and enough freedom to keep their careers moving.
A deal can serve both ambitions. It can also leave a driver working diligently behind two occupied seats, learning every procedure without discovering when the next opportunity will arrive. The difficult negotiation concerns how much of that waiting a career can afford.
Same team shirt, different bargains
McLaren placed two contrasting careers beneath the same heading in its January 15 reserve announcement. Leonardo Fornaroli, the reigning Formula 2 champion, added reserve responsibilities to his test and development role. Pato O’Ward continued as a reserve alongside his primary IndyCar duties with Arrow McLaren.
For Fornaroli, McLaren outlined an intensive testing and simulator program. O’Ward already had a racing schedule across the Atlantic. Their matching team shirts concealed different working weeks.
F1 reserve driver contracts must accommodate both careers. A young driver building F1 experience needs access to machinery and engineers. An established racer balancing championships needs room for an existing racing schedule.
Cadillac went for experience when recruiting Zhou Guanyu. In its January announcement, the team added a reserve with 68 Grand Prix starts. Zhou arrived after three racing seasons with Sauber’s various identities and a year supporting Ferrari.
Fornaroli brought recent championship-winning form from the junior ladder. Zhou brought experience of qualifying, managing races and working through full F1 seasons. Cadillac also named Colton Herta separately as its test driver, splitting emergency cover and longer-term development between different drivers.
Every weekend has a price
A boarding pass can carry consequences beyond another flight. Every race weekend spent covering an F1 team narrows the space available for testing or competing elsewhere.
Aston Martin made its expectations clear when appointing Jak Crawford for 2026: he would serve as reserve at every race. McLaren’s announcement, meanwhile, explicitly preserved O’Ward’s IndyCar campaign.
F1 reserve driver contracts reach well beyond maintaining fitness and keeping a phone switched on. Attendance requirements, notice periods and permission to race elsewhere determine how much freedom a driver retains.
Who takes priority when two championships need the same person? Can the driver accept an outside test? What happens if a race seat becomes available elsewhere?
Public appointments rarely reveal those clauses. For the driver, their wording could decide whether a season includes meaningful racing or months spent following someone else’s.
Vesti still has a race to win
Vesti’s IMSA program keeps him fighting for results. In his February diary, he described finishing second overall at Daytona and feeling disappointed because victory had seemed possible.
Battling through IMSA traffic demands decisions against other drivers, with consequences that a simulator cannot fully reproduce. O’Ward faces those pressures in IndyCar.
For drivers combining those programs with F1 work, the outside championship supplies fresh evidence of their racecraft. They can keep chasing wins while the Grand Prix seats remain occupied.
A paycheck for some, an entry bill for others
Published estimates put F1 reserve driver contracts in six-figure territory, though the evidence behind those numbers remains thin.
SalaryLeaks’ April 2026 overview puts annual retainers at $150,000–$500,000 and suggests $25,000–$50,000 per FP1 appearance. The article supplies no disclosed contracts supporting those ranges. It describes race call-up payments as case-by-case rather than offering a standard fee.
An annual retainer pays for an ongoing commitment. An appearance payment, where an agreement includes one, compensates a particular outing. Outside racing income, sponsor backing and testing access can further change the value of the deal.
Money can also travel toward the team. In October 2025, Motor Sport’s James Elson reported on court documents detailing a $3.5 million package involving Ryo Hirakawa and Toyota. It covered his 2024 Abu Dhabi FP1 appearance and two previous-car testing events with McLaren.
Hirakawa’s package bought access to machinery. Treating every practice outing as a paid appearance would miss that side of the business entirely. Depending on the arrangement, a driver can earn money for their services or bring funding to secure the opportunity.
Those laps carry value well beyond the invoice. They let a driver feel the brakes, work with engineers, and build a case for another outing. For a young reserve such as Crawford, the next question comes quickly: which car will the team let him drive?
Crawford needs laps in the car he might race
Track time gives F1 reserve driver contracts much of their sporting value. The equipment determines what a driver can learn.
Before Crawford’s maiden FP1 appearance in October 2025, Aston Martin identified more than 2,000 kilometers across the AMR22, AMR23 and AMR24. Those were earlier-season cars, separate from his simulator work. The figure did not represent 2,000 kilometers in the then-current AMR25.
Older machinery gives a driver real braking loads, physical strain and engineering feedback. Current-car running adds knowledge of the car the reserve might actually race.
Aston Martin then put Crawford into the AMR25 for Mexico City practice. McLaren later announced Fornaroli’s 2026 Barcelona-Catalunya FP1 opportunity, explaining that it contributed to the requirement for four rookie FP1 outings per team during the season.
A reserve title alone delivers none of those laps. Guaranteed outings would give a driver something concrete to prepare for, although the announcements do not reveal whether either agreement contained that commitment.
Helping build a car does not buy a seat
Inside the simulator’s snug cockpit, the driver faces a wrapping screen, hands gripping the wheel in a room with little sense of the outside world. Those hands must do more than steer: a brake-bias adjustment shifts the braking balance between the axles. Another change to the differential settings alters how the rear wheels behave through different phases of a corner.
The driver must feel the response and explain it clearly enough for engineers to act. Speed through a simulated corner offers limited help without useful feedback afterward.
Vesti said Mercedes’ simulator work helped uncover bugs before the W17’s Barcelona running. He did not identify their technical nature, so attributing a particular bouncing or hybrid-deployment fix to him would go beyond his account.
F1 reserve driver contracts can therefore deliver useful work throughout the season. A driver can help engineers examine behavior, repeat runs and prepare changes while both regular racers remain available.
Helping improve a car does not create a vacancy in it. The reserve can finish a productive week with the same unanswered question about their own future.
How long can a racer wait?
Fornaroli’s next assignment offers one answer. On October 19, McLaren announced him for its 2027 WEC Hypercar program. The team also confirmed that he would continue as an F1 reserve.
For a driver who won consecutive Formula 3 and Formula 2 championships, the arrangement supplies a major racing destination alongside continued F1 involvement. He can prepare for another championship rather than spend the winter waiting solely for an opening.
F1 reserve driver contracts will remain attractive because they place drivers inside the teams they hope to race for. Engineering meetings, practice outings and development work can deepen that relationship. None, on its own, guarantees the next promotion.
The decision becomes harder when the work goes well. A team can value a reserve’s feedback, trust their preparation and still retain both race drivers. Success in the supporting role can coexist with frustration about the larger ambition.
Racing freedom, meaningful mileage and a route forward belong near the top of the next negotiation. A larger retainer can improve a driver’s year. An agreement that keeps the driver competing can protect more of the career.
Vesti has IMSA starts to pursue. O’Ward has IndyCar, and Fornaroli now has a Hypercar future alongside reserve duties. Each has somewhere to race while pursuing the F1 opportunity.
The spare helmet can stay ready. How many seasons can a driver collect a retainer beside it before the wait costs more than the paycheck covers?
READ MORE: The super license points required for 2026 F1 reserve drivers
FAQs
What do F1 reserve driver contracts cover?
They can cover simulator work, race attendance, testing, and emergency substitutions. Each agreement determines how those duties fit around the driver’s other racing commitments.
How much do F1 reserve drivers earn?
Published estimates suggest annual retainers of $150,000–$500,000. Those figures lack disclosed contracts, so they should not be treated as confirmed salaries.
Can F1 reserve drivers race in other championships?
Yes. Fred Vesti combines Mercedes duties with IMSA, while McLaren’s announcement preserved Pato O’Ward’s IndyCar commitments.
Does a reserve contract guarantee an F1 race seat?
No. Drivers can support development and prepare for substitutions without receiving a promise of promotion.
Did Jak Crawford complete his 2,000 kilometers in a current F1 car?
No. Aston Martin identified that mileage across the AMR22, AMR23, and AMR24 before his maiden AMR25 practice appearance.
