McLaren Driver Development Watch

It has been a brilliant year so far for the Italian driver, who has taken on Reserve Driver duties following a fantastic feeder series campaign that saw him take back-to-back Formula 3 and Formula 2 titles.  

Leo has been particularly active in the simulator, helping us to prepare for Grand Prix weekends and to test and develop upgrades before they hit the track, while also taking part in five TPC (Testing of Previous Cars) tests. He was also among our drivers at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed.  

The 21-year-old recently replaced Lando in FP1 at the Barcelona Grand Prix, scoring an impressive P5 in his debut session. It wasn’t long before Leo returned to action at a Formula 1 event, with another FP1 outing, this time at the Hungarian Grand Prix, where he replaced Oscar and finished 16^th, helping to test and evaluate our latest updates during a busy session.

The young Swiss racer has been enjoying immense success in endurance racing so far this season. Grégoire is currently leading the LMP2 Drivers’ classification in the European Le Mans Series, alongside his teammates Benjamin Hanley and Griffin Peebles. He has helped launch United Autosports to the top of the table with 58 points in the last three races.

If that wasn’t enough, he also joined us at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. The 26-year-old was tasked with taking the McLaren MCL-HY Hypercar for a spin on its debut public drive, ahead of our full-time entry in the World Endurance Championship next year.

Richard has been a very busy bee this season after five years of self-managing his junior campaign in F2. The Dutchman recently took part in the Formula E Rookie Test in Madrid, driving for Lola Yamaha ABT, and managed to set the 13th fastest lap of the day.

He also races in ELMS for Duqueine Team, sitting in third place in the LMP2 PRO/AM class alongside his teammates Doriane Pin and Giorgio Roda. They picked up two bonus points for scoring Pole position in Spain and Italy, which should help in the fierce battle against joint leaders Algarve Pro Racing and Vector Sport.

After a massively successful FRECA campaign, in which Matteo secured four victories and seven podiums to finish as vice-champion, he made the jump up to F3. The Italian is currently competing in the feeder series for Trident, with a best finish of fourth, achieved in the Silverstone Sprint Race. He would have had a win under his belt as well, were it not for a post-race disqualification in the Silverstone Feature Race due to a technical regulations breach.

In addition to the support he receives from our Driver Development Programme, Matteo is being mentored by his fellow Roman Giancarlo Fisichella through Pro Racing Management.

Ella is a proud member of the trio of Ellas at McLaren, and one of the two who race for Rodin Motorsport. Ella is enjoying a brilliant sophomore season in F1 Academy. The Briton is currently fifth in the Drivers’ standings, having finished in fourth last season.

In what is only her third season of single-seater racing, Ella is engaged in an enthralling battle with fellow Brit Megan Bruce for third place in the Championship. The Welsh racer is dovetailing her season in F1 Academy with an assault on the F4 British Championship, where she has scored 30 points so far.

Fellow Rodin Ella, Ella Stevens, made her debut in single-seater racing this year. It is her very first season in F1 Academy, and she has so far scored four points.

The 19-year-old was also recently drafted in at the last minute to race in Round 3 of the Formula Winter Series at Portimão. Ella was close to clinching the Female Trophy victory in Race 2 until an incident stripped her of the chance to win. Nonetheless, with a string of karting victories under her belt, her future is looking bright.

After an impressive World Junior Karting title and Formula Winter Series victory, Dries signed with us in 2024 at just 13 years old.

2026 marks his first full season competing in single-seaters, with the Belgian having enjoyed an impressive debut in British F4 towards the end of last season, stepping up on his 15th birthday - the minimum age required to compete. He immediately impressed, claiming Pole position for Race 3 and a victory in his very first round to become the series’ youngest race winner.

In his first full campaign, he leads the standings after winning four races with Rodin. He has made an appearance in the F1 paddock, too, joining the team for FP1 and FP2 at his home Grand Prix at Spa.

Christian is only 16 years old and already has five karting championships to his name. So far this year, he has competed in Italian F4 for PREMA, and he has already claimed a victory and a podium finish. As it stands, the Spanish driver sits in fourth place in the Italian F4 Championship.

His success has also followed him to Middle East F4, where he finished sixth in the standings with a victory in Round 3 and multiple top 10 finishes, proving victorious in a huge field of 50 drivers.

The youngest of our Ella trio, she has followed in her father’s footsteps to sign with McLaren. The Finnish driver looks like an exciting talent, having already won the Champions of the Future Academy before moving to single-seaters.

This year, Ella has embarked on her debut season in F4 CEZ, where she secured an eighth-place finish on her very first start in Spielberg. The daughter of the two-time McLaren World Champion is running in 14th place in the Championship, racing for Jenzer Motorsport, and has collected a string of top 10 finishes.

Our youngest recruit, Harry, has enjoyed incredible success in karting and is keen to build towards a career in single-seaters. The 11-year-old has so far claimed 15 points in the WSK Super Master Series in the OK-Junior category, with a best finish of 12th place in Cremona.

In the Champions of the Future series, Harry smashed the track record in Mulsen, achieving the best lap of the day, and is now looking ahead to a campaign in the WSK Euro Series and the FIA Karting Championships.