Driver academies are becoming more important in the motorsport world. All teams on the grid are aiming to develop their own drivers into future world champions. McLaren is renowned for producing champions, with notable names such as Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris on their resume.
Programme Basics
McLaren strictly does not call their Development Programme an academy. They solely want to feed the top talent into their racing teams.
The Development Programme was officially launched in 2023. However, McLaren has been dedicated to providing opportunities to young drivers well before this. They truly believe in nurturing the next generation of talent. McLaren wanted to keep their momentum from their earlier success. They wanted a long-term plan.
McLaren wants any driver who joins their Development Programme to be successful. Although the team can’t offer everyone the iconic papaya shirt to wear, they will find a way to make sure everyone has every opportunity.
Current Line-up
For the 2026 season, McLaren currently has nine drivers participating in their programme.
Christian Costoya
Crowned one of Europe’s brightest racing prospects, Christian Costoya has snatched the opportunity to race under McLaren’s Development Programme. He began karting in 2015 and rose through the ranks quickly. Christian has demonstrated impressive talent throughout his karting career. Crowned champion in both the 2025 FIA Karting European Championship and the 2025 WSK Euro Series.
Christian will graduate from Karting into Formula 4. He is set to race in Italian F4, Euro 4 an F4 Middle East.
Matteo De Palo
Most known for his smooth, calm and technical driving style, Matteo De Palo is a standout competitor. The young driver began karting in 2016 and consistently achieved top finishes. After his successful karting career, he advanced to single-seaters in 2023 with Campos Racing in Spanish F4, where he claimed a race win, multiple podiums, and fifth overall in the standings, finishing the second highest out of his fellow rookies.
In 2024, he graduated to the Formula Regional European Championship. He concluded the season with one race win and one second-place finish. Additionally, in 2025, he continued in the series with Trident Motorsport. He gained two race wins and seven additional podiums to his name, and he claimed second place in the championship.
Looking ahead to his 2026 season, Matteo will be competing in Formula 3.
Leonardo Fornaroli
This is someone who knows how to celebrate success, having won the 2025 FIA Formula 2 Championship and the 2024 FIA Formula 3 Championship back-to-back. He climbed the motorsport ladder, moving into single-seaters in 2020 with Iron Lynx in Italian Formula 4. He then went on to gain further experience in both the Formula Regional Asian and European Championships.
By 2023, he had entered the FIA Formula 3 Championship with Trident, securing his first podium with a second-place finish in the Monaco Sprint.
This was followed by multiple podium finishes in further seasons. His 2025 season saw further success. Leonardo entered the FIA Formula 2 Championship with Invicta Racing. Known for his calm determination, technical insight, and tyre-management skills, he secured the title in Qatar.
After his impressive 2025 season, Leonardo will now be taken on as a Test and Development driver in 2026. Alongside this, he will also serve as a Formula 1 Reserve Driver for McLaren.
Ella Häkkinen
The Finnish racing driver is one of the youngest drivers to join the Development Programme. Ella is the daughter of two-time Formula 1 Drivers’ World Champion and McLaren legend Mika Häkkinen. It appears she has inherited her father’s talent, as she has already established herself in European karting. Ella won the 2024 Champions of the Future Academy in Cremona and has achieved further wins and podium finishes across the continent.
At just 14 years old, the racing driver is also part of one of the nine karters supported by ‘F1 Academy Discover Your Drive’ in the Champions of the Future Academy Programme.
To continue to grow her impressive talent, Ella will be undertaking a single-seater testing programme in Formula 4. This is to prepare her for the 2027 season.
Ella Lloyd
Ella has established herself as one of the most promising female talents in motorsport. She began racing competitively in 2022 in the Ginetta Junior Championship and progressed through to the Ginetta GT Championship, where she earned second place in the championship title.
2024 is when the Welsh driver made her single-seater debut in the Formula Winter Series. She continued to show her skill when she joined the F1 Academy grid in Singapore as the Wild Card.
Outside of racing, Ella is a decorated show jumper and skier, winning the gold medal at the 2019 Welsh Skiing Championship. Ella and her family are not short on sports in their life; her father was previously a Paralympic skier who also happens to hold a rally license.
Following her continuous streak of success, Ella will be competing in the F1 Academy for the 2026 season.
Ella Stevens
She has a list of achievements under her belt, including being a double English KX2 Champion, British BirelART Cadet Champion and the 2023 British KZ2 Vice-Champion. She has also written her name into history as the first woman to win in the UK’s premier karting class.
Ella will be competing in the 2026 F1 Academy season with McLaren. To prepare for this, she did the F1 Academy Rookie Test at the Circuito de Navarra in Spain.
Dries Van Langendonck
Starting his career at age eight, the Belgian racing driver is a World Junior Karting Champion. His talent does not run dry; he has many trophies and victories under his belt. He is the 2019 NK Rookie Champion, followed by his win in the 2020 Mini 60 Dutch Championship.
His wins don’t just stop there. He has also been crowned in the European Karting Championship in the OK Junior Class and the WSK Super Masters Series.
Following his signing with McLaren in 2023, the young driver has continued to outshine and show his growth. Since then, Dries made his debut in Round 8 of the 2025 British Formula 4. The young racer has converted his success into a formal seat.
In 2026, he will be competing within the British Formula 4 Championship and the Formula Winter Series with Rodin Motorsport.
Richard Verschoor
He is a force on the track and makes history whilst doing it. He had a strong progression throughout his youth and joined single-seater racing in 2026. Verschoor’s career is one worth noting. He has won both the SMP Formula 4 Championship and the Spanish Formula 4 Championship.
One of his most notable moments throughout his career was winning the 2019 Macau Grand Prix FIA F3 World Cup. He is the first Dutch driver to achieve this. He quickly moved through the ranks and has competed in both the FIA Formula 3 Championship and the FIA Formula 2 Championship.
For the 2026 season, Verschoor will compete in the European Le Mans Series. Alongside this, he will also be participating in the testing Programme across McLaren.
Pato O’Ward
He is a man full of passion and raw talent. Pato started racing at age six. Following a childhood split between Mexico and Texas, Pato moved to France in 2013 to compete in the French F4 Championship.
He soon returned to the US, and his road to IndyCar started. He has won the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona in 2017 and 2021. Alongside this, he has also won the Indy Lights Championship in 2018.
Before his most recent success in 2025, when he placed second in the championship, Pato had competed in IndyCar for six seasons. He has racked up seven poles, 31 podium finished and nine race wins. He also has a die-hard fanbase.
In addition to his IndyCar success, he is also a McLaren Formula 1 Reserve driver. For his 2026 season, he will be continuing his pursuit of a Championship with Arrow McLaren whilst also staying as a Reserve driver for McLaren Formula 1.
From Scout to Seat
McLaren finds drivers with potential on and off the track. It isn’t strictly how great they drive. It comes down to their mentality, personality, and if they fit in with the McLaren culture.
Scouting their drivers can also depend on their age and how much they can grow. However, when the team believe they can shape a driver’s character, they are willing to take a chance on them.
McLaren is soon to be better positioned than most to offer young drivers a future in racing. From 2027, they will become the only team to compete in Formula 1, INDYCAR and the World Endurance Championship.
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