Williams have announced that Jack Aitken will remain with the team as Reserve Drive for the 2021 Formula One season.
Aitken joined Williams as Reserve Driver last season after graduating through Renault’s Academy, which eventually saw him make his F1 debut as an emergency stand-in for George Russell at last season’s Sakhir Grand Prix after his compatriot was called up by Mercedes to replace Lewis Hamilton.
Aitken also participated in FP1 in Austria in early July whilst juggling his Formula Two commitments with Campos, en route to 14th overall in the F2 standings.
Speaking on his decision to remain with Williams, Aitken said: “After providing me with one of the most special moments of my career to date last year, I am absolutely delighted to continue with Williams in the position of Reserve Driver.”
This season will see Aitken continue to undertake ‘vital development work’ in the Williams simulator at Grove, whilst also working trackside with the team with another FP1 session scheduled for later in the season.
Williams also noted that Aitken will continue to support their media and marketing activity in what they described as his continuation ‘to develop as a race driver’, which hints at a potential 2022 seat should Russell be promoted to Mercedes as replacement for either Hamilton or Valtteri Bottas who are both out of contract after this season.
Aitken will participate in alternative unannounced racing programmes throughout 2021 to ‘complement’ his current role, which he hopes will benefit him, saying: “… which will aid me in this goal and provide opportunities to expand my skills even further.”
Williams Team Principal, Simon Roberts is ‘pleased’ to retain Aitken’s services for this season, describing the Brit as ‘a great talent’ and considers him ‘a much-liked member’ of Williams, with Roberts in particular admiring his drive at the Sakhir GP in December.
Speaking of how impressive the Brit’s performance was in the Sakhir GP, Roberts commented: “He really impressed us with his performance at the Sakhir Grand Prix last year in Bahrain, stepping up to the challenge at short notice to put in a strong performance over the course of the weekend.”
Roberts also spoke of his hope that Aitken will continue to contribute to the team’s improvement throughout this season like he did in 2020, saying: “Jack is a talented individual that works incredibly hard, and we look forward to seeing him contribute to the team once again this season.”
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