The 2022 Formula One season ended on Sunday with double-world champion Red Bull’s Max Verstappen winning the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix from pole position.
The Abu Dhabi GP was the final F1 race for four drivers - Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo, Mick Schumacher and Nicholas Latifi - as they will not feature in next season’s driver lineups.
Which driver will drive for which team in 2023 Formula One season?
Red Bull Racing - Max Verstappen, Sergio Perez (both retained); Reserve driver - Daniel Ricciardo
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen (left) celebrates with the trophy on the podium after winning the 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix alongside third placed Red Bull’s Sergio Perez (right). | Photo Credit: REUTERS
Dutchman Max Verstappen won his first world championship title in thrilling fashion at the 2021 season finale in Abu Dhabi by overtaking rival Lewis Hamilton on the final lap.
He signed a new contract with Red Bull in March this year that lasts until 2028. “I really enjoy being part of the Oracle Red Bull Racing Team, so choosing to stay to the 2028 season was an easy decision,” said Verstappen after signing the new deal.
Verstappen and Red Bull both justified the decision as they clinched both driver’s and constructor’s championships in 2022 in dominant fashion.
The 25-year-old Dutch driver will again be accompanied by Mexico’s Sergio Perez. He had joined Red Bull from Racing Point last year.
Perez, who fell short of the runner-up spot in this year’s driver’s championships by just three points, signed a new deal with Red Bull in May that lasts until 2024.
Ferrari - Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz (both retained); Reserve driver - Antonio Giovinazzi
FILE PHOTO: Ferrari’s Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc (right) and Spanish driver Carlos Sainz (left) wave to the crowd on the drivers parade prior to the F1 Grand Prix of Mexico at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on October 30, 2022 in Mexico City, Mexico. | Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES
Charles Leclerc joined Ferrari from Sauber in 2019 and outperformed teammate Sebastian Vettel, a four-time world champion in his very first season for the Italian outfit.
The performance lead to the Monegasque driver extending his contract with Ferrari from 2022 to 2024.
Leclerc beat Red Bull’s Sergio Perez to the runner-up spot in the driver’s championship this season by just three points.
Leclerc’s teammate for next season will again be Carlos Sainz. The Spaniard, who finished fifth this season, had joined Ferrari from McLaren in 2021. He signed a new contract in April that keeps him at Ferrari until the end of the 2024 season.
Mercedes - Lewis Hamilton, George Russell (both retained); Reserve driver - Mick Schumacher
Mercedes’s British drivers George Russell (right), race winner, and Lewis Hamilton (left), runner-up, celebrate on the podium during the F1 Grand Prix of Brazil at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace on November 13, 2022 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. | Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES
Mercedes will have the same all-British lineup - Lewis Hamilton and George Russell - for the 2023 season.
While seven-time world champion Hamilton’s current deal expires at the end of 2023, he recently said he will be negotiating a new contract with Mercedes in the near future and he plans to remain with the manufacturer that has stuck with him since his start in the sport. The 2022 season was a disappointing one for him as he finished sixth and failed to win a race in a season for the first time.
Russell had joined Mercedes from Williams to replace Valtteri Bottas and as it turned out, the young Briton outperformed the established star in Hamilton. The 24-year-old Russell finished fourth in the driver’s standings and grabbed the sole race win for Mercedes this season in Brazil.
Alpine - Esteban Ocon (retained), IN - Pierre Gasly, OUT - Fernando Alonso; Reserve driver - Stoffel Vandoorne, Felipe Drugovich
Alpine’s line-up for 2023 will have one change - Pierre Gasly will replace Fernando Alonso. French driver Gasly made his F1 debut in 2017 for Toro Rosso. He joined Red Bull for 2019 before returning to Toro Rosso, later rebranded as AlphaTauri, for the next three seasons.
Alpine, which finished fourth in the constructor’s championships in 2022, has retained Frenchman Esteban Ocon whose contract expires at the end of 2024.
McLaren - Lando Norris (retained), IN - Oscar Piastri, OUT - Daniel Ricciardo; Reserve driver - Alex Palou
Young Australian Oscar Piastri is set to replace compatriot Daniel Ricciardo at McLaren for 2023 season. The move, however, had its fare share of drama.
The 2021 F2 champion Piastri was test driver for Alpine in 2022 season. The dispute began in the wake of Aston Martin’s recruitment of two-time champion Fernando Alonso from Alpine to succeed retirement-bound four-time champion Sebastian Vettel next season. On discovering that Alonso intended to leave, Alpine announced it was promoting Piastri, but he countered by saying he had not signed a contract.
The fight between McLaren and Alpine to sign the 21-year-old was finally settled by FIA who ruled in the former’s favour.
McLaren’s second driver for 2023 season will be Briton Landon Norris, who joined the team in 2019. The 23-year-old, who finished seventh in 2022, has a contract with McLaren until 2025.
Alfa Romeo - Valtteri Bottas, Zhou Guanyu (both retained); Reserve driver - Theo Pourchaire
Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas (left) and Guanyu Zhou (right) wave to the spectators during the drivers’ parade ahead of the US Grand Prix on October 23, 2022. | Photo Credit: REUTERS
Alfa Romeo has retained both Valterri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu for the 2023 season.
Finnish driver Bottas had joined the team on a multi-year contract in 2022 as a replacement for the retiring former world champion Kimi Raikkonen after five seasons with Mercedes. He finished 10th this season.
Zhou became first-ever F1 driver from China after being signed by Alfa Romeo for 2022 season. The Swiss-based team announced a contract extension for him in September. The only rookie on track this season, Zhou finished 18th.
Aston Martin - Lance Stroll (retained), IN - Fernando Alonso, OUT - Sebastian Vettel
Aston Martin’s driver line-up for 2023 will see two-time world champion Fernando Alonso replace four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel, who retired from the sport after the 2022 season finale at Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
Alonso will be going into his 20th season in F1. He won his titles with Renault in 2005 and 2006. He took two years off in 2019 and 2020 to race in other series, including runs at the Indy 500, before joining Alpine in 2021.
Lance Stroll, son of owner Lawrence Stroll, will remain team’s second driver for next season. Stroll finished 15th this season while Vettel was 13th.
Alonso was ninth in the driver’s standings in 2022.
Haas - Kevin Magnussen (retained), IN - Nico Hulkenberg, OUT - Mick Schumacher
The US-owned Haas announced on Thursday that German driver Mick Schumacher, son of Ferrari great and seven-time world champion Michael, will be replaced by older compatriot Nico Hulkenberg for 2023 season.
Hulkenberg, who made his F1 debut in 2010 with Williams, has got a permanent seat for the first time since 2019. He was test driver for Racing Point and Aston Martin for the last three years.
Danish driver Kevin Magnussen, who signed a multi-year deal with Haas this year, will stay as its second driver for the next season after his 13th-place finish in 2022.
AlphaTauri - Yuki Tsunoda (retained), IN - Nyck de Vries, OUT - Pierre Gasly
AlphaTauri, the sister side of Red Bull, announced in October that Dutch driver Nyck de Vries will join the team for the 2023 season, replacing Pierre Gasly who joined Aston Martin.
The 27-year-old de Vries made his F1 debut in 2022 at the Italian Grand Prix earlier this year for Williams, following a stand-in appearance for Alex Albon, and finished ninth to gain two points.
The team’s other driver for next season will be 22-year-old Yuki Tsunoda of Japan, who made his F1 debut with AlphaTauri in 2021.
In 2022, Tsunoda finished 17th in the driver’s standings.
Williams Racing - Alex Albon (retained), IN - Logan Sargeant, OUT - Nicholas Latifi
Williams on Monday confirmed Logan Sargeant will race for the team in the 2023 season, making him the championship’s first US driver since Alexander Rossi in 2015.
The 21-year-old Williams academy driver secured a Formula One super-licence in Sunday’s season-ending Formula Two race in Abu Dhabi. He finished fourth overall in the feeder series and was rookie of the year.
Sargeant replaces Canadian driver Nicholas Latifi. Williams’ other driver will be Thai-born Alex Albon, who had joined the team in 2022 as a replacement for George Russell.
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