Highly rated young driver who did some testing for Honda, mostly speed events and in doing so, broke the world record for an Formula 1 car. Since then, he was in A1 GP and the Le Mans Series until he became the FIA medical driver for all F1 events from 2009 until 2021. When he caught coronavirus, it was confirmed he was unvaccinated by choice. Due to the rules that all personnel need to be vaccinated, Van der Merwe lost his role. Alan is now largely based in England, but is also involved with a management business in Switzerland and more recently, has set up a biometrics medical firm, which has designed biometric racing gloves with a pulse measurement sensor and oxygen level in the blood. Starting in 2019, the use of such gloves with medical sensors will be a prerequisite for all racing teams in FIA series.

Biography last updated 18 Mar 2022