British-Korean · Born 1995 · #31 Cadillac V-Series.R · Cadillac Whelen
Jack Aitken's route to endurance racing glory runs through one of the strangest moments in modern Formula 1 history — a last-minute call-up to replace a driver who was himself replacing another driver. From that improbable F1 debut to an outright Sebring victory three years later, Aitken's career is a story of resilience, adaptability, and making the absolute most of every opportunity.
Jack Aitken was born in 1995 in London and holds dual British and South Korean nationality — reflecting a genuinely multicultural background that has taken him to race circuits across the world. He came through the European junior formula ladder in the conventional way: karting, then various Formula series across Europe, building toward the goal of Formula 1 that drives so many young racers.
Aitken competed in Formula 2 — the direct feeder series to Formula 1 — from 2018 to 2020. He was a consistent performer without quite achieving the race wins that would have made his path to F1 straightforward. Formula 2 is brutally competitive: the grid is packed with funded, talented drivers, many of them backed by factory programs, and the jump to F1 requires not just talent but also the right political and commercial alignment.
In December 2020, Aitken received one of the most unexpected calls in motorsport. The Sakhir Grand Prix — a second consecutive Formula 1 race in Bahrain that season, run on the outer loop of the Bahrain International Circuit — was thrown into chaos when Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton contracted COVID-19. Mercedes called up their reserve driver George Russell from Williams to replace Hamilton. That left Williams without a driver. Williams called up Jack Aitken, their own reserve driver, to fill Russell's seat.
In a single weekend, Aitken went from Formula 2 journeyman to Formula 1 race driver — not just a test session or a practice run, but a full Grand Prix start. He qualified and raced at the Sakhir Grand Prix, completing his one and only Formula 1 appearance. That a driver can carry an F1 start as a credential for the rest of their career is one of motorsport's peculiarities — and Aitken's entry in the record books is permanent regardless of what else he achieves.
Finishing the race mattered less than simply being there and executing professionally under extraordinary circumstances. For a young driver thrust into the sport's pinnacle at essentially zero notice, just completing the weekend was a mark of composure and competence.
With a clear F1 future unavailable, Aitken pivoted to what has become one of the most prestigious paths in motorsport — factory-supported endurance racing. IMSA's GTP class, with its Daytona Prototype International machinery and massive manufacturer backing, is a genuine pinnacle of sportscar racing. The switch required a different skill set: endurance racing demands traffic management, precise tire conservation, racecraft across multiple stints, and the mental fortitude to perform at two o'clock in the morning as effectively as at noon.
Aitken proved supremely well-suited to this environment. His technical precision from single-seater racing translated naturally to the consistency endurance competition demands, and his composure — demonstrated under the extraordinary pressure of his F1 debut — served him perfectly when races reached their critical phases.
The 2023 12 Hours of Sebring was the defining moment of Jack Aitken's racing career to date. Sharing the #31 Cadillac V-Series.R with Pipo Derani and Alexander Sims for the Whelen Cadillac program, the trio drove a perfectly executed race to win not just the GTP class but the overall result — the outright victory at one of endurance racing's most celebrated events.
Sebring is not just another race. Its seventy-plus year history, its brutal concrete surface, its unique combination of permanent circuit and former airfield, and its place as the traditional season-opener for IMSA make it one of the most coveted victories in the sport. Winning overall at Sebring puts a driver's name into the record books alongside legends of the sport. Aitken's name is there.
Aitken returns to the #31 Cadillac for 2026, but with a new driver lineup. Earl Bamber — a multiple Le Mans and Porsche Cup champion — and Frederik Vesti — a highly-rated Formula 2 graduate — join him in the car. The combination of Aitken's Sebring course knowledge from his 2023 victory, Bamber's vast endurance experience, and Vesti's fresh pace makes the #31 one of the most interesting lineups in the GTP field.
Coming back to a race you've already won adds a specific kind of pressure: you are no longer an underdog chasing history, you are the story. Everyone knows what Aitken achieved here in 2023, and expectations are correspondingly elevated. How he handles that pressure — and whether he can become a multiple Sebring winner — is one of the race's compelling narratives.
The chain of events leading to Aitken's F1 start was extraordinary. Hamilton caught COVID → Russell moved to Mercedes to replace him → Aitken moved to Williams to replace Russell. Three drivers, two teams, one weekend. Russell nearly won the race before a pit stop error and a puncture ended Mercedes' chance — which would have been one of F1's greatest stories. Aitken meanwhile gained the permanent credential of an F1 race start.
The Cadillac V-Series.R is the American manufacturer's GTP contender — a thoroughbred prototype developed with IMSA's top-tier regulations and featuring a twin-turbocharged V6 with hybrid assistance. Cadillac fields multiple cars across IMSA and has taken multiple overall Sebring victories with the platform. Aitken knows the car's characteristics intimately after his 2023 winning campaign, giving the #31 a setup and race-strategy baseline that competing teams have to work to match.