 | |
| Founded | 1998 (as McLaren-Mercedes Young Driver Support Programme) |
|---|---|
| Base | Woking, Surrey, England |
| Current drivers | WEC Ryō HirakawaIndyCar  Pato O'Ward[1]Formula 2  Gabriel BortoletoFormula 3  Alex Dunne Martinius StenshorneFRECA  Ugo Ugochukwu[1] Brando BadoerF1 Academy  Bianca Bustamante Ella Lloyd (2025)Karting  Dries Van Langendonck |
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 most notable participant in the programme is Lewis Hamilton, who joined the programme while karting and eventually graduated to the McLaren F1 Team. He has won the Formula One Drivers' Championship seven times between 2008 and 2020, where the 2008 championship was won with McLaren. Hamilton is currently the only graduate from the programme who has won a World Drivers' Championship. 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.
As of 2024, nine programme drivers have graduated to Formula One, with four of those debuting directly with the McLaren F1 Team: Lewis Hamilton in 2007, Kevin Magnussen in 2014, Stoffel Vandoorne in 2016, and Lando Norris in 2019. Hamilton and Norris have won a Grand Prix race with the team. Gabriel Bortoleto will be the tenth graduate from their academy, the Brazilian set to race with Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber in 2025.
The program is managed by Stephanie Carlin, formerly of Carlin Motorsport.[2]
- ^ a b "McLAREN ANNOUNCES NEW DRIVER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME". McLaren.com. McLaren.
- ^ Gale, Ewan; Riberts, James (15 November 2024). "The unconventional route taken by McLaren's new academy chief". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 17 November 2024.