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Aitken stays on as Williams reserve driver in 2021

Williams F1 has confirmed that Jack Aitken will retain his position as the team's official test and reserve driver for 2021.

“We are pleased to retain Jack for the 2021 season," team principal Simon Roberts said in a team press release on Thursday, adding that Aitken will continue to integrate himself into the trackside team.

"He is a great talent and quickly became a much-liked member of the team," he said. "Jack is a talented individual that works incredibly hard, and we look forward to seeing him contribute to the team once again this season.”

Read also: Williams retains Chadwick as development driver for 2021

Before joining Williams in 2020, the 25-year-old British-Korean driver had been a member of the Renault young driver academy, during which time he competed in GP3 and Formula 2 and was also the official F1 test driver for Renault.

Aitken got his first true F1 break last September when he sat in for regular Williams driver George Russell in the Sakhir Grand Prix. Russell had been called up by Mercedes to substitute for an unwell Lewis Hamilton following a positive coronavirus test.

"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," commented Roberts.

Aitken had previously taken part in an FP1 session with Williams at the Red Bull Ring in Austria, and undertook vital development work in the team’s simulator at Grove throughout the season.

The team said that Aitken will now have the opportunity to take part in a second FP1 session during the 2021 season.

"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," Aitken said.

"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.

"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.”

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.