19 Year Old Formula 1 Prospect Shows His Commercial Appeal in the USA for the Growing Sport of F1
Houston, TX (21 October 2024) – To celebrate Aramco being headquartered in Houston for 50 years, the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team brought their young American driver and their Formula 1 car to Houston to help celebrate their commercial relationship with Aramco.
As Formula 1 prepared for the traditional visit to Austin’s Circuit of the Americas, Crawford was tapped for three days of activity on the ground in Houston that included a working entourage of nearly 40 personnel to support Formula 1 car showruns and demonstrations with Jak as the pilot of the car and a headline of the event.
The events also included an Aston Martin Dealer visit, Crawford speaking on technology panels, Formula 1 Q&A events as well as meet and greets with politicians and business leaders, all of which provided a diverse range of commercial opportunities for Aston Martin Aramco to showcase Crawford, a promising talent and Texan.
“Having Aramco based in my home town created the perfect opportunity for Aston Martin Aramco and me to come to Houston to put on an F1 show and make new friends for the brands and the sport,” said Crawford. “I was raised in the Houston metro in The Woodlands. Houston is a big city, but we all cheer for the same teams like the Astros, Rockets, Texans and our own University teams. It is nice as a racing driver to come home and have people cheering for the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team and supporting my own racing career on the Formula One ladder.”
Aston Martin Aramco has asked Jak to travel to several races this year to provide commercial and marketing support as well as imbedding him with the drivers and the engineers to learn more about what to expect during the intense Formula 1 weekends.
Understanding the commercial/marketing appeal of Crawford as an American, Aston Martin Aramco has made sure to have him on site for key events including Miami, Austin, and later on this season in Las Vegas. The Aston Martin Aramco commercial team has jumped all in on Jak’s attraction in terms of youth, image, opportunity, and nationality. Heading into the second year with the team, this focus will only continue to grow in 2025.
“The commercial side of the business has been so new to me,” said Crawford, who moved to Europe full-time as a 13 year old to focus exclusively on making it to Formula 1 as a driver. “I have learned a lot this year about partners, sponsors, VIPs and fans providing marketing support from talking on stage to zoom calls to sitting on panels with other professionals. There is the racing side, and there is the commercial side. You cannot have the one I love to do without the other! This year has been my main vocational training ground for the future when I am the main driver. I have been very fortunate to have been imbedded with two F1 teams now at as so young of an age. My education in the F1 world has been steep and deep.”
Jak has been in the Formula One car on track a couple of times this year in Europe and England, with more laps planned later in the year. There are even more track days planned next year with exciting announcements yet to come in time from Aston Martin Aramco.
“These events are nice, but at the end of it, my goal is to be a F1 driver on the grid in 2026,” said Crawford. “The time I am getting on the track in the Formula One car is important to keep learning and showing what I am capable of doing behind the wheel of the car. The feedback has been very good and I have impressed where I needed to impress. The F1 engineers on the team know my strengths. Now it is just a process of continuing to grind, succeed at what I am doing, and keep looking for my chance to show what I can do in the F1 car as a team’s main driver.”
Crawford continued his duties with Aston Martin Aramco Racing through the COTA weekend even as he continues to prepare for a big final push to the 2024 FIA Formula 2 season with two race weekends yet to run on the championship.
