 | |
| Founded | 1998; 27 years ago (1998) |
|---|---|
| Base | McLaren Technology Centre Woking, Surrey, England |
| Teamprincipal(s) | Alessandro Alunni Bravi Warren Hughes |
| Current drivers | IndyCar Pato O'WardFIA Formula 3  Matteo De Palo (starting 2026)F1 Academy  Ella Lloyd Ella Stevens (starting 2026)British F4  Dries Van LangendonckKarting  Ella Hakkinen (starting 2026) |
TheMcLaren Driver Development Programme, formerly known as theMcLaren Young Driver Programme, is adriver development programme operated byMcLaren. 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 theMcLaren-Honda Young Driver Programme and theMcLaren-Mercedes Young Driver Support Programme, reflecting engine deals withHonda andMercedes, respectively.
The programme's most notable participant isLewis Hamilton, who joined whilst karting and eventually graduated to the McLaren F1 Team. He has won theFormula One Drivers' Championship seven times between2008 and2020, including the 2008 championship, which was won with McLaren. Hamilton is currently the only graduate from the programme who has won a World Drivers' Championship.
As of2025, 10 former programme drivers have progressed toFormula One, with four graduating directly with McLaren: Lewis Hamilton in2007,Kevin Magnussen in2014,Stoffel Vandoorne in2016, andLando Norris in2019. Hamilton and Norris have each won Grands Prix with the team.
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 andNicolas Minassian as some of its first drivers. From 2019 to 2021, no drivers were part of the program. McLaren Racing CEOZak 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.[1][2]
In April 2023, the Young Driver Programme was replaced by the Driver Development Programme.[3] Later in October, the programme signed its first female driver inBianca Bustamante, who represented McLaren in the2024 season ofF1 Academy.[4][5] In October 2024, the programme signed its second female driver inElla Lloyd, who represented McLaren in the2025 F1 Academy season[6] in place of Bustamante, who left the series and the programme after completing her second season.[7] In November 2025, the programme announced the signing of Ella Häkkinen, the programme's youngest signing at the age of 14 and the daughter of1998 and1999World Drivers' ChampionMika Häkkinen. The programme also signed Ella Stevens, who will join Lloyd as McLaren's second F1 Academy supported driver for the2026 season.[8]
| Driver | Since | Current series | Titles as McLaren Driver Development Programme member |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pato O'Ward[3] | 2023– | IndyCar Series | None |
| Dries Van Langendonck[9] | 2024– | Karting (OK) F4 British Championship | None |
| Ella Lloyd[6] | 2025– | F1 Academy F4 British Championship | None |
| Matteo De Palo[10] | 2026– | Formula Regional European Championship | None |
| Ella Stevens[11] | 2026– | Karting | None |
| Ella Häkkinen[11] | 2026– | Karting | None |
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 asNick Heidfeld andGabriel Bortoleto, are not included.[12]
| Driver | Academy experience | F1 experience with McLaren | F1 experience with other teams | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Years | Former series | |||
| 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– | — |
