Williams have confirmed Jack Aitken will stay on as their official reserve driver for 2021, having made his Grand Prix debut last season. British-Korean racing driver Jack Aitken will stay on at Williams for 2021, serving as their official reserve driver. The 25 year old joined Williams for 2020, having previously been a part of the Renault Driver Academy. Embedding himself at Williams, Aitken made his Formula 1 debut by standing in for George Russell at the Sakhir Grand Prix as the Williams race driver stepped up to deputise for the ill Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes.
Aitken also took part in FP1 at the Styrian Grand Prix, as well as conducting simulator work at the team’s base in Grove in the UK.
The Formula 2 race winner will continue working with Williams this season, continuing work in the simulator. He’ll also take part in another FP1 session to keep up to speed with driving a contemporary Formula 1 car and will work with the team’s media and marketing departments.
Speaking about the announcement, Jack 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. In my short time at Grove I have already found many friends, and a deep desire for success as a team.”
“The professionalism and work ethic of everyone here is something that makes me wear my kit with pride, and having had a taste of racing in last year’s Sakhir Grand Prix, I am fully intent on providing as much support as possible while continuing my development as a race driver. I will complement this role with other programmes, to be announced shortly, which will aid me in this goal and provide opportunities to expand my skills even further.”
Simon Roberts, Team Principal of Williams Racing added: “We are pleased to retain Jack for the 2021 season. He is a great talent and quickly became a much-liked member of the team. 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. Jack is a talented individual that works incredibly hard, and we look forward to seeing him contribute to the team once again this season.”
