# McLaren Driver Development Programme

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 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.
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.
As of 2025, 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 with the team.

## History

The programme was founded in 1998 by McLaren and Mercedes as the McLaren-Mercedes Young Driver Support Programme. The programme notably signed Lewis Hamilton, Nick Heidfeld and Nicolas Minassian as some of its first drivers. From 2019 to 2021, no drivers were part of the program. McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown said this was due to the team's "very targeted" approach and already stable Formula One line-up, meaning it would be difficult for any young drivers to find a place in Formula One.
In April 2023, the Young Driver Programme was replaced by the Driver Development Programme. Later in October, the programme signed its first female driver in Bianca Bustamante, who represented McLaren in the 2024 season of F1 Academy. In October 2024, the programme signed its second female driver in Ella Lloyd, who will represent McLaren in the 2025 F1 Academy season in place of Bustamante, who left the series after completing her second season.

## Current drivers

| Driver | Since | Current series | Titles as McLaren Driver Development Programme member |
| Ugo Ugochukwu | 2021– | Formula Regional Middle East Championship FIA Formula 3 Championship | Euro 4 Championship (2023) FIA FR World Cup (2024) |
| Pato O'Ward | 2023– | IndyCar Series IMSA SportsCar Championship | None |
| Brando Badoer | 2024– | Formula Regional Middle East Championship FIA Formula 3 Championship | None |
| Alex Dunne | 2024– | FIA Formula 2 Championship | None |
| Dries van Langendonck | 2024– | Karting (OK) | None |
| Martinius Stenshorne | 2024– | FIA Formula 3 Championship | None |
| Ella Lloyd | 2025– | F1 Academy F4 British Championship | None |

## Graduates to Formula 1

This list contains the drivers that have graduated to Formula 1 with McLaren support. Therefore, drivers who have had support in the past and entered Formula 1 through other means, such as Nick Heidfeld and Gabriel Bortoleto, are not included.
| Driver | Academy experience | Academy experience | F1 experience with McLaren | F1 experience with other teams |
| Driver | Years | Former series | F1 experience with McLaren | F1 experience with other teams |
| Lewis Hamilton | 1998–2006 | Karting (1998–2001) British Formula Renault Championship (2002–2003) Formula 3 Euro Series (2004–2005) GP2 Series (2006) | 2007–2012 | Mercedes (2013–2024) Ferrari (2025–) |
| Kevin Magnussen | 2010–2013 | German Formula Three Championship (2010) British Formula 3 International Series (2011) Formula Renault 3.5 Series (2012–2013) | 2014–2015 | Renault (2016) Haas (2017–2020; 2022–2024) |
| Stoffel Vandoorne | 2013–2016 | Formula Renault 3.5 Series (2013) GP2 Series (2014–2015) Super Formula (2016) | 2016–2018 | — |
| Lando Norris | 2017–2018 | FIA Formula 3 European Championship (2017) FIA Formula 2 Championship (2018) | 2019– | — |

## Former drivers

| Driver | Years | Series competed | F1 team(s) |
| Wesley Graves | 1998 | Karting (1998) | None |
| Nicolas Minassian | 1998 | International Formula 3000 Championship (1998) | None |
| Norman Simon | 1998 | German Formula Three Championship (1998) | None |
| Ricardo Zonta | 1998 | FIA GT Championship (1998) | BAR (1999–2000) Jordan (2001) Toyota (2004–2005) |
| Nick Heidfeld | 1998–1999 | International Formula 3000 Championship (1998–1999) | Prost (2000) Sauber (2001–2003; 2010) Jordan (2004) Williams (2005) BMW Sauber (2006–2009) Renault (2011) |
| Mário Haberfeld | 1999 | International Formula 3000 Championship (1999) | None |
| Cheng Congfu | 2003–2006 | British Formula Renault Championship (2003–2006) | None |
| Giedo van der Garde | 2006 | Formula 3 Euro Series (2006) | Caterham (2013) |
| Oliver Rowland | 2007–2010 | Karting (2007–2010) | None |
| Alexander Albon | 2010 | Karting (2010) | Toro Rosso (2019) Red Bull Racing (2019–2020) Williams (2022–) |
| Jack Harvey | 2010 | Formula BMW Europe (2010) | None |
| Petri Suvanto | 2010 | Formula BMW Europe (2010) | None |
| Oliver Turvey | 2010–2011 | GP2 Series (2010–2011) | None |
| Ben Barnicoat | 2010–2015 | Karting (2010–2013) Formula Renault 2.0 NEC (2014) Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 (2014–2015) | None |
| Nyck de Vries | 2010–2018 | Karting (2010–2011) Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 (2012–2014) Formula Renault 2.0 Alps (2013–2014) Formula Renault 3.5 Series (2015) GP3 Series (2016) FIA Formula 2 Championship (2017–2018) | Williams (2022) AlphaTauri (2023) |
| Tom Blomqvist | 2012 | FIA Formula 3 European Championship (2012) | None |
| Andrew Tang | 2012 | Karting (2012) | None |
| Nobuharu Matsushita | 2015–2017 | GP2 Series (2015–2016) FIA Formula 2 Championship (2017) | None |
| Nirei Fukuzumi | 2016–2017 | GP3 Series (2016–2017) | None |
| Sérgio Sette Câmara | 2019 | FIA Formula 2 Championship (2019) | None |
| Álex Palou | 2023 | IndyCar Series (2023) | None |
| Ryō Hirakawa | 2023–2024 | Super Formula (2023) FIA World Endurance Championship (2023–2024) | None |
| Gabriel Bortoleto | 2024 | FIA Formula 2 Championship (2024) | Sauber (2025) |
| Bianca Bustamante | 2024 | F1 Academy (2024) Formula Winter Series (2024) F4 British Championship (2024) Italian F4 Championship (2024) Euro 4 Championship (2024) | None |
* Championship titles highlighted in bold.