2023 F1: Let's meet the new (and old) additions to the grid

The 2023 Formula 1 season is upon us, and like every year, there are new (and old) faces on the grid. Let's discover them together:

Surely you are aware of Oscar Piastri's arrival at McLaren. His was perhaps the most discussed name during the Silly Season. Officially announced in Alpine, the driver personally denied on social media and then signed with McLaren, despite the fact that shortly before Daniel Ricciardo had confirmed his permanence in the team for at least another season (he had a contract expiring in 2024).

Despite all the circus, it is not surprising that the Canadian driver is now on the grid after his exploits in the minor categories. In 2020, with Prema, he won the Formula 3 championship as a Rookie and in 2021 he repeated himself by winning the Formula 2 championship. An accomplishment previously achieved only by Charles Leclerc and George Russell. It was perhaps expected that someone would find space for this young talent as early as the 2022 season, but instead he became the third driver for Alpine.

Now we will see him in orange alongside the other protégé who caused a stir at the time with his multi-year contract with McLaren, Lando Norris.

A great story accompanies Nyck De Vries' arrival on the Formula 1 grid. The Dutch driver won Formula 2 in 2019 and the Formula E world championship in the 2020-2021 season. From then on he became the reserve driver for Mercedes during the 2021 and 2022 seasons. The latter was his turning point. De Vries took part in three F1 free practice sessions during this season: in Spain with Williams, in France with Mercedes and in Italy with Aston Martin. In Italy he then took over in the race in place of Alex Albon out of action due to acute appendicitis and put himself on display by beating his “team-mate” Nicholas Latifi, both in qualifying and in the race, also earning his first ever points. The domino effect of Sebastian Vettel's retirement, which led to Alonso's move to Aston Martin freeing up a place in Alpine that was occupied not by Oscar Piastri, but by Pierre Gasly, who in turn freed up a place in AlphaTauri, came to an end with the signing of Nyck De Vries with the Italian club.

Amongst the old faces returning is Nico Hülkenberg who scored a seat at Haas. The team went from having a pair of Rookies in 2021 to presenting two experienced drivers in 2023. Due to unavoidable circumstances in 2022 Nikita Mazepin was replaced by Kevin Magnussen and for this year Nico will replace the young Mick Schumacher. Hülkenberg's career in Formula 1 was interrupted in 2019 while he was racing with Renault (now Alpine), in 2020 he was the third driver for the Racing Point team (now Aston Martin) and continued like this in the 2021 and 2022 seasons despite sometimes competing to replace Covid-positive drivers. For the 2023 season, Haas will rely on his consistency and stability to bring home important points.

Mick Schumacher was 'dumped' at the end of the season (despite increasing rumors in the previous months) without having a chance to hunt for another seat. His last hope was the open seat in Williams, but even that was filled in Abu Dhabi by Logan Sargeant.

The American driver, in the very last race of the F2 season, managed to secure a super-licence and consequently a place in the top 20 in Formula 1. Sargeant has shown himself in the minor categories such as F3 in 2020 (finishing 4 points behind winner Oscar Piastri). The last American driver in the major category was Alexander Rossi in 2015 and everyone, including Domenicali, has never hidden their desire to bring an American driver back to Formula 1. The young driver's arrival in the Circus was almost a fluke following all that happened in the Silly Season, but it will be up to him to turn it into a great opportunity.

Four new drivers and a few grid swaps set us up for another great season. Who will be the best? Who will be the great surprise of the 2023 championship?