Max Verstappen wants the third world title in a row, his hunters are Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, Nico Hülkenberg will hold up the German flag alone in 2023. But in addition to the usual suspects, Formula 1 has other drivers to look out for in the new season. We present five of them.
The 2021 Formula 2 champion provided spectacular summer theater last year. Alpine, who had invested a lot of money in training the Australian, and McLaren insisted on existing contracts for 2023. The case ended up before the FIA arbitration board. McLaren was right, the 22-year-old was allowed to switch to his dream team. Piastri, who was considered a mega talent, is now celebrating his Grand Prix debut in Bahrain. Rarely have rookies started with greater expectations. "Everything that has happened up until now has led to this point. Being able to call myself a Formula 1 driver is a special feeling," explained Piastri.
Malicious gossips claim that Logan Sargeant rose to Formula 1 mainly because of his nationality. The calculation is also too plausible: The premier class wants to continue growing in the USA, the Williams team is in the hands of a US investment company. The 23-year-old from Florida is the first regular US driver in Formula 1 since Scott Speed in 2007. He was "pretty relaxed," said Underdoy Sargeant before the start in Bahrain (Sunday, 4 p.m. on Sky and in the live ticker on ntv .de). By the way, Williams' plan B was called Mick Schumacher.
When Fernando Alonso contested his first Formula 1 race in 2001, Oscar Piastri was not yet born. Now, at 41, Alonso is the senior president in the field. His 356 Grand Prix starts are unmatched, the 32nd and last victory of the two-time world champion was ten years ago. But the idiosyncratic to stubborn Spaniard never seems to get enough. He seems to have made a good decision with his move to Aston Martin, which seems to have made a significant leap forward. "Eight or ten years" he still wanted to drive Formula 1, said Alonso in Bahrain, where he surprisingly won the second training session. With any other driver in his age group, you would think that was a joke.
Alpine, Renault's Formula 1 works team, has made the long-awaited leap to the top of the premier class a national task, so to speak - and is relying on a French driver duo that offers both potential and explosives. Esteban Ocon (26) and the slightly older Pierre Gasly (27) have known each other for 20 years, at first they were buddies, Gasly sometimes lent his friend the kart. They came up together, but at some point the air got thin - at least for them Friendship, Ocon even spoke of "great rivalry". But that's over, the two Grand Prix winners assert, since Alpine made them colleagues. The team is above the personal. A thesis that will be put to the test before the eyes of the motorsport world this season.
