Mclaren brings back old acquaintance as reserve driver for Silverstone

The sudden presence of Nico Hülkenberg at the Racing Point last weekend clearly showed how important it is for the teams to have a good reserve driver on hand. Mclaren now says, according to Formula 1 analyst and editor at formula1.com Lawrence Barretto, also to have appointed a good driver as a possible backup for the GP of England.

The name of the driver appointed by Mclaren for this weekend is not unknown. Namely: Paul di Resta. Di Resta has been allowed to join the Williams Formula 1 team before, after Felipe Massa called in sick. In case something should happen to drivers Lando Norris or Carlos Sainz this weekend, di Resta will once again be an old acquaintance who can make his appearance in Formula 1. However, he will continue to analyze the weekend at Sky Sports until it comes to that.

Few options

Esteban Gutiérrez or Stoffel Vandoorne seemed to be the most obvious choices as reserve drivers for the Formula 1 teams. But since Vandoorne is currently working in Berlin for Formula E, and Gutiérrez does not have a super license. All Mclaren has to do is get a familiar face out of the box of tricks.

McLaren say Paul Di Resta will be their "standby driver" at this weekend's 70th Anniversary GP at Silverstone, with Vandoorne unavailable and Gutierrez without a superlicence (they had an arrangement to use Merc reserves). #Silverstone #F1

— Lawrence Barretto (@lawrobarretto) August 5, 2020