McLaren
©McLaren
With McLaren in the process of transitioning from Renault to Mercedes power units for 2021, the team has a similar deal as that of Racing Point when it comes to tapping into the Silver Arrows' reserve list of drivers including Stoffel Vandoorne and Esteban Gutierrez. However they would be third in line when it comes to selecting a stand-in driver, leaving them at risk of being left standing should either Carlos Sainz or Lando Norris be struck down and the game of coronavirus musical chairs come to a head.
One alternative is that McLaren could approach Sergey Sirotkin, who fulfilled reserve driver duties at Woking last year. However the role doesn't appear to have been renewed for 2020, leaving the Russian more likely to heed a summons from Renault instead. In that event there might be only one trump card left for McLaren to play - and we know you're already shouting it at the screen:
Fernando Alonso
It's just possible you may have heard of this little-known 38-year-old Spanish driver, who made his bow on the F1 stage in 2001 with Minardi before quickly getting picked up by the works Renault team. Two world championships followed in 2005 and 2006 and he went on to a race for McLaren and Ferrari. After retiring from F1 at the end of 2018 he scored back-to-back wins at Le Mans with Toyota. Although no longer formally on McLaren's books, he's still part of their IndyCar line up for this year's Indy 500 so if they needed help, Alonso would surely answer the call from Woking.
Williams
The name of Sergey Sirotkin also pops up in connection with Williams, given that he drove for the team throughout the 2018 season. While the circumstances of their split suggested a rapprochement is unlikely, Sirotkin has spoken of a possible return to Grove in 2021 should George Russell earn promotion to Mercedes, suggesting that the lines of communication between driver and team remain open. In the meantime, Williams already have their own official reserve driver in place for 2020 should either Russell or Nicholas Latifi fall ill:
Jack Aitken
London-born Jack Aitken graduated from GP3 in 2017 to take up a seat in Formula 2 with ART and then with Campos Racing, which combined have successfully given him the FIA superlicence points he needs to take part in an F1 weekend. He's still to have a proper taste of modern F1 hardware, so throwing him into a full race at this point would be a huge ask of the 24-year-old. However Aitken has already proved himself more than capable in the virtual arena by claiming third in last weekend's Virtual Le Mans with Rebellion Williams.
Haas
Haas' situation is similar to that of Renault, in that they have two promising young stars signed up as reserve drivers but the sum total of none of which have sufficient points to claim the all-important FIA superlicence to be eligible to take part in a Grand Prix without a waiver from the governing body. As the youngest team on the grid, Haas also lacks a past roster of drivers to reach out to. The lack of a viable reserve might be used as evidence to question Haas' ongoing commitment to F1, but team principal Guenther Steiner insists that he's "not panicking". He feels that there is no need to rush into anything straight away, explaining that it is something "we can deal with it at the appropriate time" and that technology partners Ferrari might help out in an emergency.
Louis Deletraz
At the age of 23, Louis Delétraz has already spent three years competing in the Formula 2 support series with Rapax, Charouz and most recently Carlin. He's picked up five podium positions during that time but has yet to win a race in the championship - and that lack of a breakthrough has left him well short of touching distance of that all-important superlicence needed to take part in F1. However he did show off his sim racing talent as part of the winning line-up in last week's inaugural Virtual Le Mans 24 Hour race.
In the meantime, Haas is looking to the long term with the following rising stars:
©Haas
Pietro Fittipaldi
The grandson of a two-time Formula 1 world champion, Pietro Fittipaldi certainly has a motor sport pedigree to make his peers jealous. The 23-year-old Brazilian was set for a break-out season in 2018, only to suffer a serious accident in the World Endurance Championship Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps race that left him with two broken legs, halting his career momentum. Fittipaldi is now back racing in DTM and was selected as Haas' official sim driver for 2019, but his enforced lay-off has left him well short of earning those vital superlicence points.
