Jack Crawford is currently the only US driver in the world’s biggest motorsport competition, although you’d be forgiven for thinking otherwise.
The Texas native has acquired that classic Formula 1 touch. It’s the product of years spent racing around the world, including long stretches of time in Europe – a jumbled, indeterminate tone not unlike the rhythm of other talented teenagers who grew up on international racetracks, such as Britain’s Lando Norris and Oli Biermann.
Having risen through the ranks of Formula 4 all the way to Formula 2 – a championship he narrowly lost last year to Italian Leonardo Fornaroli – Crawford, just 21 years old, enters this season with an almost unprecedented amount of experience under his (seat) belt.
After that undoubtedly painful loss in Formula 2, Aston Martin was on hand to soften the blow. They made Crawford their reserve driver for the FIA’s crown jewel (and the only competition these kids ever put their lives on the line for): F1. His job? To score crucial points for Lawrence Stroll’s valuable racing team in the event that Fernando Alonso or Lance Stroll is unable to drive.
“I think it’s very rare,” Crawford says. Hollywood Reporter About being an American F1 driver. He is speaking from the Aston Martin superyacht, docked in Monaco. We’re guests of the team here in the municipality for the most spectacular race on the Formula 1 calendar, the only sporting event on the planet in which A-list stars (like Cynthia Erivo, Patrick Dempsey, Noah Schnapp, Terry Crews, Olivia Wilde, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas) come in second place this year. The conversation is regularly – and politely – interrupted by uniformed staff offering us a selection of sumptuous canapés, while the Côte d’Azur sun shines on a busy port dotted with billionaires’ boats.
“Logan Sargent and I are the only ones who have been close to each other since Scott Speed appeared on the grid,” Crawford continues, referring to the former Scuderia Toro Rosso driver, who last made his Formula 1 appearance in 2007. “Yes, it’s been a long time. But I’m very proud to represent my country – not just in Formula 1 but in Formula 2 for the last couple of years. Being American, there are actually a lot of young American kids driving.” I guess I look forward to karting, in a way, I feel like I haven’t had enough of that. There was no one from my country to support anyone in Formula 1.
The rarity of Crawford’s situation becomes even more impressive when you consider how much the sport has evolved over the past decade. In 2017, Formula 1 Group was purchased by Colorado-based Liberty Media for $4.4 billion.
Nine years later, there are now three US races on the calendar, in Las Vegas, Miami and Austin – more than any other country – and according to Formula 1, the sport now has 52 million fans across America, up 11 percent year-on-year. “I have a lot of friends, especially my age, [who] “I had no idea what I did or what I wanted to do growing up,” Crawford says, “and now they know all about it and come to my races.”
He admits that a lot of this goes back to the Netflix doc Driving to survive – a success that hundreds of Hollywood producers have tried and failed to recreate – although Crawford was astonished by the attractive names who joined us here in Monte Carlo. “I saw Kim Kardashian,” he says. THR. (The reality mogul and Skims founder is at the track to support Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton.) “I saw a lot From security guards. I was just taken out of the way!” he laughs. “It was very strict all weekend.”
Kardashian is not a woman who needs to explain to anyone. But admittedly, Crawford had never heard of it Hollywood Reporter. Perhaps our presence here is a testament to Formula 1’s growing popularity, or perhaps, perhaps, a race car driver like Crawford simply can’t get enough of film and television news. The latter option is more likely, given his interest in padel (a mix of tennis and squash) and running, as well as his preference for less important Formula 1 events: “I like Monaco more for the track and the racing, but yeah, I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily my favorite atmosphere.” “I like the quieter races, but it’s still very cool of course.”
It makes sense – Crawford has already logged more than 2,000 kilometers (1,242 miles) in Formula 1 cars, but is desperate to get as much time in the car as possible. “I’m ready to drive at any time,” he says of the possibility of stepping in for Alonso or Stroll. “I feel ready, and of course I don’t wish anything bad on anyone, but if the opportunity presents itself [were] In order to rise, I will definitely take the opportunity to try to show my best self.
The step from F2 to F1 is, as Crawford describes it, the biggest move any driver will make in his career. “Cars, of course, are faster – you have more downforce, more power. But I think the biggest thing is more technology,” he says. “And the amount of people you work with. We have a lot of people, probably close to 1,000 people, working for the team. In Formula 2, we had 12,” he said with a smile. “So there’s a big difference.” It’s a contradiction that prompted Crawford to change his exercise routine to compensate for the enormous muscles needed in the neck and body to handle the force of driving a Formula 1 car.
It was also an emotional whirlwind suddenly as he shared the ring with his childhood heroes. “Growing up, I always looked up to Max [Verstappen]Crawford continues, “He was young and very fast and a lot of the time I got attached to that because I was very young when I started. Now he is one of the best drivers in the world.”
Fortunately, despite their competitiveness, these 22 drivers are “very nice” and “always say hello” to the young American. Jack Crawford races under the American flag, and hopes one of them will be his teammate at some point – in the near future.
