Born and raised in London to a Scottish father and South Korean mother, Aitken began competitive kart racing aged seven. He made the transition to cars when he competed in the Intersteps Championship with Fortec Motorsport, with whom he then went on to race with in the Formula Renault BARC Winter Series, Formula Renault NEC and Formula Renault Eurocup.
Jack Anthony Han-Aitken was born on 23 September 1995 in London to a Scottish father and South Korean mother.[3][4] Aitken holds dual British and South Korean citizenship.[5][6]
Aitken entered his first full season of Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 in 2014 with Fortec.[7] He won one race at the Hungaroring and finished on the podium three further times to end the season seventh in the championship. During the first half of the campaign, he had to finish his A-Level qualifications while attending Westminster School. He also made guest appearances in the Formula Renault 2.0 Alps series, with best finishes of fourth place at the Imola Circuit.
For 2015, Aitken moved to Koiranen GP in Formula Renault 2.0, contesting both the Eurocup and Alps series. He won both titles at the final rounds at the Circuito de Jerez, one week apart. He took nine race wins in total, finishing ahead of Louis Delétraz in the Eurocup and Jake Hughes in the Alps series.[8]
In January 2016, Aitken stepped up to the GP3 Series with Arden International. In his maiden season, he claimed a victory at Spa-Francorchamps and six additional podiums to finish fifth in the overall standings, one point behind teammate Jake Dennis. In that year, Aitken also made brief appearances in the Euroformula Open and Formula V8 3.5 series, claiming two wins and two pole positions in four races in Euroformula Open and a pole position in Formula V8 3.5.
2017
In February 2017, it was announced that Aitken would remain in the GP3 Series, switching to reigning team champions ART Grand Prix. He took one race win at the Hungaroring and five further podium finishes, finishing second in the championship with 141 points, behind champion and former karting rival George Russell on 220 points.
In January 2018, ART Grand Prix announced Aitken would join their Formula 2 team for the 2018 FIA Formula 2 Championship, again partnering Russell.[9] He took his first podium finish with second place in the Baku feature race, and later took his first victory in the Barcelona sprint race.[10] He finished 11th in the championship with 63 points, whilst Russell claimed the title with 287 points.
For the 2019 season Aitken moved to Campos Racing, initially partnering Dorian Boccolacci and later Arjun Maini and Marino Sato.[11] Aitken took his first win of the season, and Campos Racing's first win in Formula 2, at the Baku feature race. He also won his home sprint race at Silverstone, after overtaking Louis Delétraz on lap 17. Aitken also won the Monza sprint race after defending from the MP Motorsport car of Jordan King. King criticised Aitken's defensive driving as he claimed after the race that Aitken was weaving down the straight. Aitken finished fifth in the standings, scoring 159 of Campos' 189 points and helping them to finish fifth in the teams' championship.
2020
Aitken remained at Campos for 2020, partnering Guilherme Samaia. Aitken took a double-podium finish at the second Silverstone round, finishing third in both the feature race and sprint race. He was involved in a high-speed collision with Luca Ghiotto on lap seven of the sprint race at Sochi. Both drivers were uninjured, but damage to the barriers caused the race to be red-flagged and not restarted.[12] Aitken missed the final round at the Bahrain to race in Formula One, and was replaced by Ralph Boschung. Aitken finished 14th in the standings, scoring all of Campos' 48 points.
2021
Aitken left Campos and the Formula 2 series after 2020, however he returned during the 2021 season with HWA Racelab as a replacement for Matteo Nannini, who withdrew from the championship after the first round.[13] He was initially signed for the second and third rounds in Monaco and Baku respectively and was later retained for the fourth round at Silverstone.[14] He recorded a best finish of ninth place in the second Monaco sprint race, but failed to score points over the three rounds.
Formula One career
Renault test driver (2016–2019)
Aitken in 2018
In February 2016, Aitken was one of four drivers confirmed to join the young driver program of Renault F1.[15] In September 2017, Aitken sampled Formula One machinery for the first time, testing the Lotus E20 at Jerez.[16] In February 2018, Aitken was appointed as third and reserve driver for Renault.[17][18] That year, he tested the Renault R.S.18 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya during the young drivers' test.[19] Another test came at Suzuka where once again he drove the R.S.18.[20] Aitken continued as test driver for Renault in 2019,[21] and once again took part in the 2019 young drivers' test at Barcelona.[22] In February 2020, Aitken left Renault.[23]
Aitken made his Formula One debut as a race driver with Williams at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix as a replacement for George Russell, who was promoted to Mercedes following Lewis Hamilton's positive coronavirus test.[26] Aitken stated before the event he had been "ready since Melbourne [March]" for such an opportunity.[27] He chose to race with the car number 89, in reference to a number he previously used in karting.[26] He qualified for the race in 18th place, within a tenth of a second of teammate and regular driver Nicholas Latifi.[28][29] On lap 61 of 87, 15th-placed Aitken spun at the final corner, colliding with a barrier and breaking off his front wing. He returned to the pits for a replacement and was able to continue the race, eventually finishing 16th. He later remarked that he had mixed feelings about the race, stating "I think we were doing a really good job up until my little incident. I can only apologise to the whole team", but that there were "a lot of positives to take from the weekend".[30]
Aitken performed Thursday media duties with Williams ahead of the next race in Abu Dhabi but ultimately did not drive the car, as Russell returned to the team prior to FP1 when Hamilton was passed fit to return to Mercedes.[31]
In March 2021, Williams announced that Aitken would continue to be their reserve driver for the 2021 season.[32] He took part in FP1 at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, replacing Russell for the session.[33]
Aitken retained his reserve driver role with Williams for the 2022 season.[34] He did not partake in any practice sessions that year, and at the start of 2023, he was announced that he would split with Williams, in order to focus on his sportscar career.[35]
Sportscar racing career
Aitken before the start of the 2022 edition (left) and his car, the No. 47 Algarve Pro Racing Oreca 07 (right).
2021 season: First endurance racing season and serious crash
In July 2021 during the Spa 24 Hours event, Aitken was involved in a massive crash along with 3 other drivers. He crashed into the barrier after Raidillon, bounced back onto the track and came to a stop before being hit from behind by another driver which caused two further cars to become entangled in the accident. Aitken was taken to hospital where he stayed overnight.[37] His injuries were described as non life-threatening though serious and it was later revealed that he had sustained "a broken collarbone, a fractured vertebra ... and a very small lung contusion".[38][39]
For the 2022 season, Aitken also raced exclusively in the endurance rounds of the championship, pairing up with Mirko Bortolotti and Albert Costa in the same Emil Frey Racing Lamborghini. He finished 13th and 6th in the first two races, held in Imola and Paul Ricard respectively. In the 24 Hours of Spa, after a crash for Costa, Aitken failed to finish the race.
Aitken made his 24 Hours of Le Mans in the 2022 edition, competing for Algarve Pro Racing alongside Sophia Flörsch and John Falb. The trio finished 25th overall, 20th in the LMP2 class and 5th in the Pro-Am sub class.
† Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance. ‡ Half points were awarded as less than 75% of the scheduled race distance was completed.
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