McLaren Driver Development Programme
Program to support young racing drivers through their careers
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The McLaren Driver Development Programme, formerly known as the McLaren Young Driver Programme, is a driver development programme operated by McLaren. It is intended to offer year-by-year guidance, assistance and endorsement to help promising young racers climb the motorsport ladder. The programme was also formerly known as the McLaren-Honda Young Driver Programme and the McLaren-Mercedes Young Driver Support Programme, reflecting engine deals with Honda and Mercedes, respectively.
Woking, Surrey, England
Warren Hughes
Pato O'WardEuropean Le Mans Series
Richard Verschoor
Grégoire SaucyFIA Formula 3
Matteo De PaloF1 Academy
Ella Lloyd Ella StevensFormula 4
Christian Costoya
Dries Van LangendonckKarting
Ella HakkinenTBA
Leonardo Fornaroli | |
| Founded | 1998 |
|---|---|
| Base | McLaren Technology Centre Woking, Surrey, England |
| Team principal(s) | Alessandro Alunni Bravi Warren Hughes |
| Current drivers | IndyCar Pato O'Ward European Le Mans Series Richard Verschoor Grégoire SaucyFIA Formula 3 Matteo De PaloF1 Academy Ella Lloyd Ella StevensFormula 4 Christian Costoya Dries Van LangendonckKarting Ella HakkinenTBA Leonardo Fornaroli |
As of 2026, 10 former programme drivers have progressed to Formula One, with four graduating directly with McLaren: Lewis Hamilton in 2007, Kevin Magnussen in 2014, Stoffel Vandoorne in 2016, and Lando Norris in 2019. Hamilton and Norris have each won a Formula One World Drivers' Championship and multiple Grands Prix with the team. Hamilton, the programme's most notable participant, won the drivers' title seven times between 2008 and 2020.
History
The programme was founded in 1998 by McLaren and Mercedes as the McLaren-Mercedes Young Driver Support Programme. The programme notably signed Lewis Hamilton, Nick Heidfeld and Nicolas Minassian as some of its first drivers. From 2019 to 2021, no drivers were part of the program. McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown said this 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.[1][2]
In April 2023, the Young Driver Programme was replaced by the Driver Development Programme.[3] Later in October, the programme signed its first female driver in Bianca Bustamante, who represented McLaren in the 2024 season of F1 Academy.[4][5] In October 2024, the programme signed its second female driver in Ella Lloyd, who represented McLaren in the 2025 F1 Academy season[6] in place of Bustamante, who left the series and the programme after completing her second season.[7] In November 2025, the programme announced the signing of Ella Häkkinen, the programme's youngest signing at the age of 14 and the daughter of 1998 and 1999 World Drivers' Champion and former McLaren driver Mika Häkkinen. The programme also signed Ella Stevens, who will join Lloyd as McLaren's second F1 Academy supported driver for the 2026 season.[8]
Current drivers
| Driver | Years | Current Series | Titles as McLaren Driver Development Programme member |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pato O'Ward[3] |
2023– | IndyCar Series | None |
| Dries Van Langendonck[9] |
2024– | Formula Winter Series F4 British Championship |
2024 European Karting Championship OK-J Class 2024 WSK Final Cup OK Class 2025 WSK Super Master Series OK Class 2024 COTF Championship OKJ Class |
| Ella Lloyd[6] |
2025– | F1 Academy | None |
| Matteo De Palo[10] |
2026– | FIA Formula 3 Championship | None |
| Christian Costoya[11] |
2026– | UAE4 Series Italian F4 Championship E4 Championship |
None |
| Leonardo Fornaroli[11] |
2026– | TBA | None |
| Ella Häkkinen[12] |
2026– | Karting | None |
| Grégoire Saucy[13] |
2026– | European Le Mans Series | None |
| Ella Stevens[12] |
2026– | F1 Academy | None |
| Richard Verschoor[11] |
2026– | European Le Mans Series | None |
Graduates to Formula One
This list contains the drivers that have graduated to Formula One with McLaren. Therefore, drivers who have had support in the past and entered F1 through other teams such as Nick Heidfeld (with Prost Grand Prix) and Gabriel Bortoleto (with Sauber), are not included.[14]
| Driver | Academy experience | F1 experience with McLaren | F1 experience with other teams | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Years | Former series | |||
| Lewis Hamilton† |
1998–2006 | Karting (1998–2001) British Formula Renault Championship (2002–2003) Formula 3 Euro Series (2004–2005) GP2 Series (2006) |
2007–2008–2012 | Mercedes (2013–2024) Ferrari (2025–) |
 Kevin Magnussen |
2010–2013 | German Formula Three Championship (2010) British Formula 3 International Series (2011) Formula Renault 3.5 Series (2012–2013) |
2014–2015 | Renault (2016) Haas (2017–2020, 2022–2024) |
| Stoffel Vandoorne |
2013–2016 | Formula Renault 3.5 Series (2013) GP2 Series (2014–2015) Super Formula (2016) |
2016–2018 | N/a |
| Lando Norris† |
2017–2018 | FIA Formula 3 European Championship (2017) FIA Formula 2 Championship (2018) |
2019–2025– | N/a |
- Championship titles highlighted in bold.
- † denotes currently active Formula One drivers.
Former drivers
- Championship titles highlighted in bold.
See also
Notes
- Driver was simultaneously a member of the Honda Formula Dream Project.
- Hirakawa was simultaneously a member of the TGR Driver Challenge Program.