Having begun his motorsport career in karts in 2003, Rochford racer Will Stevens made the step up to cars with a brief Formula Renault foray in 2008 on the back of European and Asia-Pacific karting titles. He returned to Formula Renault for a full campaign in 2009 and spent three seasons at that level: scoring wins in the UK and Eurocup championships and finishing fourth in the final standings of the latter in 2011.
In 2012, Will moved on to Formula Renault 3.5 and during his second season in the series went toe-to-toe with current McLaren F1 driver Carlos Sainz, as well as former McLaren F1 drivers Kevin Magnussen and Stoffel Vandoorne. Will ended the campaign in fourth with five podiums to his name and went on to record a brace of wins in the series in 2014. In the same year, he made his F1 debut at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with Caterham and he acquitted himself well during a full season in F1 with Manor Marussia in 2015.
A move to sportscar racing in 2016 gave Will the opportunity to show that he was not just adept behind the wheel of a single-seater. Wins soon came in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) and Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup. Notable highlights include second place in the LMP2 class in his first attempt at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, followed by victory in the prestigious race just one year later in the GTAM class – finishing two laps clear of his closest rivals. Will continues to race in the WEC and European Le Mans Series.
Now in his third year as an official McLaren F1 test & development driver, Will plays a pivotal role in the team’s pursuit of performance – his speed and technical understanding proving invaluable when it comes to car development and set-up for our race drivers.
