Three rookies, one returning player and one question mark

Formula 1 starts its 74th World Championship season in Bahrain this week. There was a surprising amount of movement in the driver sector during the break, as there will be at least three rookies in the kingdom who are going into their first year with a fixed cockpit. However, one of them is no longer a blank slate - which is even more true for returnee Nico Hülkenberg. It is still unclear whether a fourth newcomer will also complete his first race with Austro-Connection.

Everything has remained the same only with the triumvirate of Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes as well as with Alfa Romeo. The six other teams have changed their driver configuration for 2023 in one position. McLaren may have secured the greatest talent: The eight-time constructors' champion replaced the Australian Daniel Ricciardo, who returned to Red Bull as a reserve driver, with his compatriot Oscar Piastri.

The 21-year-old won both the Formula 3 and Formula 2 championships in his first season, which is why expectations are high at McLaren. In order to transfer the pilot from the Renault stable, contract disputes with rival Alpine were accepted last summer. The French would have liked to use Piastri themselves.

Oscar Piastri will chase the McLaren across the asphalt in 2023. © APA/afp / GIUSEPPE CACACE

New to AlphaTauri is Nyck de Vries. The 28-year-old Dutchman comes from the Mercedes youth program and won Formula 2019 in 2 and Formula 2021 in 3. Last September he drove at the Italian Grand Prix as a Williams replacement for Alexander Albon. Because there were no prospects for De Vries in the Mercedes factory team and other driver options for AlphaTauri had been eliminated, there was a rather unusual change of sides.

“Nyck de Vries has introduced himself very well, he brings a lot of technical knowledge with him. In the long runs he was very consistent, he drove ten laps each within a tenth,” said Red Bull motorsport consultant Helmut Marko in an APA interview, referring to the test drives in Sakhir last week. In a duel with his Japanese teammate Yuki Tsunoda, the following applies to both: “The one who has the upper hand will go further in Formula 1.”

The Williams will continue to be manned by Alexander Albon. © ANSA / ALI HAIDER

Williams also filled the position alongside Albon for the new season with a newcomer. Logan Sargeant hopes to become the first American to compete in a full Formula 2006 season since Scott Speed in Toro Rosso in 1. The 22-year-old has been part of the Williams squad for a long time, most recently finishing fourth in the Formula 2 championship. The last US driver to compete in a Formula 1 race was Alexander Rossi at Marussia in 2015.

Nico Hülkenberg is back in a Formula 1 cockpit for a longer period of time. The 35-year-old German, most recently the stand-in in addition to his expert work for ServusTV at Racing Point and Aston Martin, grabbed the position left vacant by the departure of compatriot Mick Schumacher at Haas. It is questionable whether Hülkenberg will be able to overcome his negative record - he never made it onto the podium in 181 Grand Prix starts - this year.

Felipe Drugovich would have a chance of a surprise, as far as one can tell from the test performances. The Formula 2 champion from Brazil would take over the cockpit from Lance Stroll at Aston Martin as an official replacement driver if the Canadian, who was injured after a cycling accident, had to miss the opening race. Drugovich has an interesting family history, as his mother's family has roots in Austria, among other places. The 22-year-old even knows a few words and sentences in German.

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Three rookies, one returning player and one question mark

This season brings three new faces to the paddock, while an old friend returns.

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