Few drivers make it to Formula 1, but their odds of doing so skyrocket by being affiliated with an F1 team’s junior driver programme. This series explores the performances of driver academy members in 2024. Today’s spotlight: the Aston Martin Young Driver Development Programme.

By Marco Albertini

In 2024, Aston Martin’s driver development programme kicked off in earnest, with two junior single-seater drivers supported by the team alongside F1 reserve and ELMS driver Felipe Drugovich.

Tina Hausmann, the first of the newly supported drivers, had a learning year in F1 Academy, while Jak Crawford, the most recent driver to join the programme, had a breakout year in F2.

Check out the e-book below to read all eight of the 2024 F1 driver academy reviews!

Jak Crawford (F2, P5)

Following a difficult debut year in F2 with Hitech that saw him leave the Red Bull Junior Team, Crawford joined Aston Martin’s junior programme in early 2024. When he joined, he was preparing for his second season in F2, for which he switched to DAMS and lined up alongside Juan Manuel Correa.

Having started off the year with a podium in the Bahrain sprint, Crawford challenged regularly for top-five finishes throughout the season. He took his only win of the season in the Barcelona feature and added two third-place finishes at Silverstone and Spa before the summer break.

Crawford finished in the points in all but two races during the last five rounds. He scored two more podiums after the summer break and finished fifth in the standings.

In early 2024, Crawford tested for the Andretti Formula E team in Berlin. The team announced in November that he would join them as a reserve driver for the 2024–25 season.

As was announced in October, he will remain with DAMS in F2 for 2025, this time alongside Kush Maini.

Tina Hausmann (F1 Academy, P10; F4 UAE, P40)

After a promising debut year with AKM Motorsport in Italian F4, Hausmann was signed by Aston Martin as its representative in F1 Academy with Prema Racing for 2024.

She started the year with a one-off appearance for Xcel Motorsport in F4 UAE’s second round in Yas Marina, where she had a best finish of 21st.

She then turned her attention to F1 Academy and started off the season on a high with a sixth-place finish in the first Jeddah race. But she struggled to reach those heights again, with a double retirement in Miami kicking off a challenging summer. She scored points in four of the next six races, with a best result of eighth, but struggled to match the pace of her teammates.

After not reaching the points in Qatar or the first race at Yas Marina, she turned things around for the last two races of season with a ninth and a fourth, her best result of the season. Those boosted her to 10th in the drivers’ standings at the end of her first season in the championship.

Hausmann’s exact future has not yet been confirmed, but she is expected to stay in F1 Academy for another year.

Header photo credit: Dutch Photo Agency