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The final piece of the 2023 Formula 1 jigsaw has been put into place with the news that Nico Hulkenberg is set to replace Mick Schumacher at Haas. After two seasons, Schumacher's stint at Haas is over after an underwhelming second campaign forced team boss Guenther Steiner to look for other options - settling on the veteran German to partner Kevin Magnussen. It now means all 20 seats have final ly been filled - with just three World Champions competing - the fewest since just Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen raced in 2008, although '09, '19 and '20 had three competing as well. Half of the grid will be Grand Prix winners, as one World Champion in Sebastian Vettel and one multiple race winner in Daniel Ricciardo prepare to depart the grid. Joining are three rookies - one at McLaren and another at Williams while AlphaTauri are set to gain probably the most experienced 'rookie' driver in F1 history - and also one of the most versatile. ...

Guenther Steiner has defended Haas' decision to previously gamble on inexperienced drivers, after signing F1 stalwart Nico Hulkenberg for 2023. Ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the Haas team confirmed that they would be dropping Mick Schumacher in favour of Hulkenberg, who has secured his first full-time F1 drive since 2019. F1 returnee Hulkenberg will be making his 185th Grand Prix appearance in next season's opening race and, when asked about the main reason for signing the 35-year-old, Steiner commented that his experience would be beneficial to the team. "He was in F1 for a long time, he was with teams in the midfield for a long time, so he knows how they work, how to make them better," Steiner commented to media, including TheFOXposts.Com . "Wherever he was the team always made progress, and that's our aim; to do that here. "Experience takes time to make and at the moment we don't have time, because we want to move forward. ...

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend is the final chance for some Formula 1 teams to meet a new rule for the 2022 season. Prior to the campaign getting underway, a new clause was added as Article 32.5 of the Sporting Regulations. Each car would have to be given up for one practice session to allow a rookie driver to get meaningful mileage in contemporary machinery. As it applies to each car - rather than each team - it means the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen are required to put their helmet up for a session while someone else drives their car. Heading into the final FP1 session of the season, some drivers have still not given up their car, including World Champion Verstappen. However, he will do so on Friday morning, along with seven other drivers . The table below has all the information about who is in, and who is out. Abu Dhabi FP1 driver replacem...

A new all-female series has been announced for 2023 by Formula 1 which aims to prepare young female drivers to progress to higher levels of competition. Known as the 'F1 Academy', the series will consist of five teams run by current F2 and F3 teams, each entering three cars to make up a 15-car grid. There will be seven events consisting of three races each, totalling 21 races along with 15 days of official testing. While it will not form a permanent part of the F1 support race package, it is expected to include one Grand Prix weekend next year. The announcement follows the collapse of the W Series 2022 season, which had to end early after the round in Singapore due to lack of funding. Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula 1, said: "Everyone should have the opportunity to follow their dreams and achieve their potential and Formula 1 wants to ensure we are doing everything we can to create greater diversity and routes into this incredible sport. ...

Christian Horner believes that no driver would have been able to match Max Verstappen in the same equipment in 2022 after Sergio Perez 's championship hopes ultimately came up short. The Mexican finished third in the World Championship following a battle with Charles Leclerc for the runner-up position in the season-closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Perez ended the campaign with 305 points, while Verstappen – who clinched his second title at the Japanese Grand Prix – racked up 454 points, as well as breaking the record for most wins in a season along the way. As Perez fought for P2 in the championship, his relationship with Verstappen came under the spotlight in Brazil when the Dutchman refused a team order to let Perez by, though both stated afterwards that the situation had been discussed and resolved. When asked whether there was any sense of relief that those lost points ultimately did not affect the outcome for Perez in Abu Dhabi, Horner stated that he was keen to lo...

Logan Sargeant has been confirmed as Williams ' second driver for the 2023 season , taking the final seat on the grid. The American driver was already unveiled as Williams' intended driver for 2023 but was made to complete the Formula 2 season and wait to be officially announced as an F1 driver for next season. Junior drivers must acquire enough qualifying points to obtain a superlicence in order to race in Formula 1. Having earned 30 superlicence points through his junior career and FP1 outings, Sargeant went into the final F2 weekend in Abu Dhabi needing just P6 in the Drivers' Championship to reach the 40-point threshold for earning a superlicence. A finish of P6 in the Sprint race and a P5 in the Feature race secured P4 overall in the Drivers' standings, which completed the final hurdle in his quest for an F1 drive . Sargeant, the first American driver in F1 since Alexander Rossi in 2015, will replace Nicholas Latifi and race alongside Alex Albon f...

With teams and drivers having a day of rest following the season finale, Abu Dhabi now plays host to a one-day test. The test will be primarily used for trialling the new Pirelli compounds, which will be used for the 2023 season . However, several teams will also take the opportunity to run their newly-recruited 2023 driver s, with pre season testing opportunities limited ahead of the opening race in Bahrain. Teams will run two cars each: one for the regular race drivers, and one designated for a 'rookie' driver, defined as an eligible driver with fewer than two Grands Prix experience. McLaren, AlphaTauri and Williams will use the opportunity to run their incoming inexperienced drivers (Oscar Piastri, Nyck de Vries and Logan Sargeant respectively) in the rookie-designated cars. It's also a chance for Alpine, Aston Martin and Haas to run their incoming experienced drivers (Pierre Gasly, Fernando Alonso and Nico Hulkenberg). Many of the regular driver s will ...

Max Verstappen has become the first driver to receive a new FIA award following his victory at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. As well as receiving the traditional trophy, the winner of each F1 race will now be given a medal. Drivers' race-winning trophies are often housed in the teams' trophy cabinets, while the driver gets the chance to take home a replica. From now on, to ensure that driver s do not go home empty-handed after a victory, they will receive a medal to commemorate their achievement. As such, Verstappen was the first to be given the prize for his win at the Yas Marina Circuit. The race number of the Grand Prix in question will appear on the medal, with Verstappen's prize engraved with the number #1079. Source: https://thefoxposts.com/verstappen-first-dr...

Jack Doohan admits that he is reluctant to take a reserve driver role in Formula 1 just yet after missing out on a possible race seat for 2023. The Alpine Academy driver has previously spoken of his attempts to be considered for the spot in the team that became available when Fernando Alonso announced his departure for Aston Martin. This position later went to Pierre Gasly, while Doohan looks set to remain in Formula 2 after finishing the 2022 championship in sixth place. The Australian is keen to focus on racing going forwards, rather than taking on a reserve role in F1. "There's possibilities of what I could be enrolled into the Formula 1 team but, honestly, being a reserve driver or not doesn't help me or doesn't do anything really for me," Doohan told media, including TheFOXposts.Com , after taking part in the Abu Dhabi post-season test for Alpine. "The main priority is to focus fully on Formula 2, because I could come around to all the...

Alex Albon has opened up about the F1 driver s' "really special " night out in honour of the retiring Sebastian Vettel at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. All 20 driver s got together for the meal over the weekend of the season finale, with several posting photos of the occasion on social media later on. Albon admits that the event was a memorable one. "The dinner, truthfully speaking, it was really special," he told the F1 Nation podcast after the race in Abu Dhabi. "It was a lot of fun. I think every driver, myself, my cheeks were aching, just smiling and laughing the whole time. So it was really good." When asked for more specific details, though, Albon was reluctant to share too much. "I feel like I'll get in trouble [if I] say," the Williams driver added. "I think that was a strict policy of the dinner itself. We can't say what happened. There were some very good stories being told." ...

Max Verstappen believes that drivers who aren't prepared for the intensity of modern Formula 1 should stop racing. The F1 calendar has steadily grown over the past 20 years, from 16 Grands Prix in 2003 to a record 24 scheduled for next year. Though doubts over the viability of the Chinese Grand Prix may mean the 2023 calendar runs instead to 23 races, this would still be the longest F1 season ever, and Verstappen said those unprepared for the intensity should leave the sport. "If you're not prepared, then it's better to stop already, right?" Verstappen told The Guardian . "I think we're all racers and we love racing ." After emerging triumphant in 2021 following a season-long championship battle with Lewis Hamilton that went down to the last lap of the final race, Verstappen successfully defended his title this year, winning the 2022 crown with four races to spare. Discussing the tension of the 2021 title race, Verstappen said he wouldn...

Toto Wolff has pledged to agree a deal with Mick Schumacher to become the Mercedes Formula 1 third driver, if the German wants it. Schumacher's two-year stay at Haas ended after the 2022 season finale in Abu Dhabi, with the team drafting in Nico Hulkenberg to partner Kevin Magnussen for the next campaign. The second seat at Haas was the final vacancy on the 2023 grid, meaning Schumacher would be forced into a third or reserve driver deal at another team, with Pietro Fittipaldi firmly encosed in that position at the American squad. Mercedes are on the hunt for a new driver to shadow Lewis Hamilton and George Russell after Nyck de Vries departed for a race berth at AlphaTauri, while Stoffel Vandoorne took up a reserve role at Aston Martin. Both Schumacher and Daniel Ricciardo have been linked with the vacancy at Brackley, but Ricciardo opted to return to Red Bull after leaving McLaren. Wolff feels that a deal for Schumacher to join is certainly possible. ...

Logan Sargeant has confirmed his race number ahead of his maiden season in Formula 1 . The American driver became the final driver to be confirmed for the 2023 season, following his completion of the Formula 2 season and acquiring enough superlicence points. He will join Nyck de Vries and Oscar Piastri in participating in their first full F1 season in 2023. Rookie drivers must choose a race number which will follow them throughout their F1 career. Williams and Sargeant confirmed that the 21-year-old will run the number 2. “I used to run it in Formula Renault,” Logan explained, continuing: “And I had a pretty good season that year.” “Number 3 is my number , but that’s taken so I figured why not take a winning number from the past and run with it in F1 ?” You must accept cookies to view this content You have not currently accepted all ...

Compared to the volatility of the 2022 Formula 1 driver market, 2021 was quite tame in comparison. The key players involved were George Russell of Williams and Valtteri Bottas - with the former keen to end the tenancy of a Mercedes cockpit the latter had enjoyed since 2017. Speculation was rife throughout the summer that Russell to Mercedes was imminent, but at the Belgian Grand Prix, there was nothing new to communicate, although Russell did provide a nugget when he said things needed to be done "properly" in the pre-race press conference - alongside Bottas, of course. Both already knew at this stage what was to happen, but the public announcements were kept on hold until all the pieces of the jigsaw were in place. The first piece of this was Kimi Raikkonen's retirement, and after allowing the veteran Finn a few days in the headlines, the press release detailing Bottas' move to Alfa Romeo was sent. The next domino to fall was Russell alongside Lewis Ham...

Ferrari ambassador and long-standing test driver Marc Gene says the Scuderia can beat anyone on the F1 grid if they cut out mistakes. Hopes were high of a title challenge at Maranello after Charles Leclerc won two of 2022's first three races to seize the initiative in the championship fight. However, Ferrari would win just twice more all season long, as a combination of poor reliability, questionable strategy calls and driver error put paid to any chance of challenging eventual champion Max Verstappen. Following the 2022 season, it was also revealed that Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto would leave his role at the end of the year, with the Scuderia now set to appoint a fifth team boss in ten years. Viewed by others: Sebastian Vettel V...