From Max Verstappen to Nico Hülkenberg: These are the 20 Formula 1 drivers

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Logan Sargeant (USA), Team: Williams

Nicholas Latifi scored two points for Williams last year – not enough.

From this season onwards he will be replaced by

, who is making his debut in Formula 1 and at least introduced himself with big words.

The 22-year-old said he would push the car to the limit.

"That's what I was hired for." And: "I feel almost overprepared!" Sargeant is supposed to lead the traditional

team out of the crisis.

Last year, the racing team took last place in the constructors' championship.

Photo: Mark Thompson/Getty Images

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Alexander Albon (Thailand), Team: Williams

In addition to Sargeant,

should increase the pace at

.

The former Red Bull driver is the clear team leader alongside the rookie and is increasingly in the limelight.

In this role, the 26-year-old has already dampened expectations for the coming season.

“It's all about working together.

We still have a long way to go.« That sounds far less enthusiastic than the announcements made by his young team-mate.

Photo: Florent Gooden / IMAGO / PanoramiC

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Nyck de Vries (Netherlands), Team: Alpha Tauri

He is a newcomer, but not inexperienced:

is 28 years old and is entering his first Formula 1 season as a regular driver.

The Dutch

has already impressed in other racing series in his career, but he has so far been denied the leap into the Formula 1 cockpit.

In 2018 he drove in Formula 2 together with George Russell, Lando Norris and Alexander Albon, after which his competitors received a place in Formula 1. De Vries was left out.

"The current Formula 1 market is completely blocked, there's no chance for me," he said at the time.

In the previous season he already drove a race for Williams as a reserve driver, now he can constantly measure himself against the best.

Photo: Peter Fox/Getty Images

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Yuki Tsunoda (Japan), Team: Alpha Tauri

Nyck de Vries is 28 years old, the second driver,

, is already in his third year in Formula 1: your

racing team actually belongs to Red Bull's junior program.

But with the current driver constellation, the question arises as to whether the actually planned promotion of young people will be fulfilled here at all.

Either way: team boss Franz Tost made an announcement to the Japanese before the start of the season.

This year, Tsunoda is expected to significantly increase its points tally from last year (twelve).

Photo: Peter Fox/Getty Images

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Nico Hülkenberg (Germany), Team: Haas

Sebastian Vettel has ended his career, Mick Schumacher is only a test driver: Are there no more German drivers in Formula 1?

Not at all: After three years

is back in a Formula 1 cockpit as a regular driver.

"It's like riding a bike, you don't forget it," said the 35-year-old before his first assignment for the US team

, which wants to play a more constant role in Formula 1 with Hülkenberg's experience.

Hülkenberg also has one goal: in 181 Formula 1 races to date, he has never been on the podium – an inglorious record.

Photo: Jerry Andre / IMAGO / Laci Perenyi

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Kevin Magnussen (Denmark), Team: Haas

Mick Schumacher had to go after twelve points last year,

had collected 25 points and was allowed to stay in the

team.

The Dane, who sometimes tends to be the bully in the Netflix series “Drive to survive”, found encouraging words for his outgoing ex-colleague in the past few days.

Schumacher would have got his fluctuating performances under control - "if he had had another year".

Magnussen remains a regular driver, Schumacher is now a reserve driver for McLaren and Mercedes.

Photo: Mark Thompson/Getty Images

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Fernando Alonso (Spain), Team: Aston Martin

He will be 42 this year, has contested 356 Formula 1 races and is not tired yet:

knows no brakes.

This season, the Spaniard drives for

, filling the void left by Sebastian Vettel after his retirement.

Alonso's move came as a surprise.

Aston Martin finished just seventh in the constructors' championship for the 2022 Formula One season, three places behind Alonso's then-team Alpine.

But with good test results, the eternal Alonso silenced the skeptics for the time being.

Photo: Peter Fox/Getty Images

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Lance Stroll (Canada), Team: Aston Martin

Lance Stroll's

path to Formula 1 was once prepared by his father and funded with millions.

Today, the Canadian has long been a permanent fixture in the racing series: he is entering his seventh season.

However, the 24-year-old pilot has not yet made the big leap forward.

12th, 18th, 15th, 11th, 13th, 15th place – these are the rather modest finishes of his Formula 1 career so far.

Stroll could now continue to grow alongside the experienced Alonso, but his

must also improve in terms of performance.

All the same: Stroll will be fit again in time for the start in Bahrain after he had to miss the test drives due to a hand injury.

Photo: Jared C Tilton/Getty Images

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Zhou Guanyu (China), Team: Alfa Romeo Sauber

Zhou Guanyu

contested his first season in Formula 1 last year.

His serious accident at the British Grand Prix was particularly memorable.

His car overturned and slid several meters down the track with the cockpit.

Zhou survived the accident unharmed.

The Halo system saved his life, he said later.

team

should be formative for the 23-year-old.

Zhou, who disappointed last year with six points, says he has made great progress with his car.

Photo: Clive Mason/Getty Images

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Valtteri Bottas (Finland), Team: Alfa Romeo Sauber

duped his Chinese team-mate Zhou

last season .

The experienced Finn won the team-internal duel with 49:6 points and took tenth place in the drivers' overall standings.

But even the 33-year-old cannot be completely satisfied with the past year, from the second half of the season hardly any points were gained.

and the ex-Mercedes driver have to be more consistent this year, then the Swiss racing team could be the big surprise.

In any case, Bottas said his team had taken a step forward.

However, he cannot say what the competition did.

Photo: Eleanor Hoad / IMAGO / Every Second Media

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Oscar Piastri (Australia), Team: McLaren

Who is looking so dark?

is the second new face in Formula 1 alongside Nyck de Vries. He drives for

, replacing fellow Australian Daniel Ricciardo, who was unhappy at McLaren and is currently a Red Bull reserve driver.

There had been a lot of fuss about Piastri's move to the British racing team.

Last summer, the Alpine racing team announced that its former junior driver Piastri would take over an Alpine cockpit in Formula 1 in the coming season.

Piastri denied that he had already signed a contract with McLaren.

An independent arbitration board for disputes in international motorsport had to negotiate the case and agreed with Piastri.

Photo: Gongora / IMAGO / NurPhoto

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Lando Norris (Great Britain), Team: McLaren

There is no dispute about this man:

has been closely associated with his racing team since his days as a junior racing driver.

This year, the Briton is going

into his fifth Formula 1 season with

Norris is considered one of the greatest talents in Formula 1. The only question is whether his team can keep up with the 23-year-old.

Ex-McLaren driver Jenson Button fears that Norris is wasting his best years at McLaren: "I was surprised that he signed such a long-term contract".

With Andreas Seidl, McLaren has lost its internationally esteemed team boss to the Sauber team this season.

Photo: Michael Potts / IMAGO

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Esteban Ocon (France), Team: Alpine

More podiums, fourth place in the constructors' championship, closing the gap to the top three:

has big plans for the new season.

is supposed to help with that.

However, the Frenchman would have to improve for this, last year he was not on the podium once.

After all, this year the car should be better again: "To be honest, the car from 2022 looked like a toy compared to what we have now," Ocon said during the test drives.

Photo: Bryn Lennon / Formula 1 / Getty Images

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Pierre Gasly (France), Team: Alpine

With

alongside Ocon,

has a French driver duo.

In addition to their nationality, both have in common that they have already won a Formula 1 race.

Ocon won the 2021 season for Alpine at the Hungarian Grand Prix, Gasly celebrated for AlphaTauri in Italy in 2020.

Just a one hit wonder?

For 27-year-old Gasly and 26-year-old Ocon, this year is also about proving themselves among the top drivers in Formula 1.

It's less about winning and more about consistency.

Photo: Gongora/NurPhoto/Getty Images

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Carlos Sainz (Spain), Team: Ferrari

246 points, fifth place overall last year, but also six retirements:

is entering his third season with

and still has room for improvement.

Both the Scuderia and the Spaniard performed well in testing, but is an attack on Red Bull really possible this year?

The 28-year-old, who has only won one Formula 1 race so far, at least said that he was getting on better and better with the Ferrari and was happier than when he started.

But it's not just on Red Bull that Sainz has to catch up, his team-mate is also a bit ahead of him.

Photo: Mark Thompson/Getty Images

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Charles Leclerc (Monaco), Team: Ferrari

Victory in Bahrain, second place in Saudi Arabia, victory in Australia:

got off to a dream start to the past season.

In the overall standings, the Monegasse in a

was clearly beaten by world champion Max Verstappen, but he clearly won the team-internal duel against Sainz with 308:246.

Previously, Leclerc also had Sebastian Vettel under control in the two Ferrari years together.

There is no question that the 25-year-old is one of the fastest drivers in Formula 1 and can compete for the world title.

Now his Ferrari has to take the decisive step.

Photo: Mark Thompson/Getty Images

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George Russell (England), Team: Mercedes

Not only Red Bull and Ferrari want to fight for the title,

also wants to play an important role.

However, during the test drives in Bahrain, there were slight doubts as to whether this would be possible.

In any case, the 25-year-old was clearly behind the leaders.

Lost everything?

Russell, who has 82 Formula 1 starts to his credit and is no longer a newcomer, is relaxed and hopes to improve from race to race.

The Brit also saved his best time almost to the end last year: At the penultimate race in Brazil, Russell won a Formula 1 Grand Prix for the first time and ended his first year with Mercedes with a strong fourth place in the overall standings.

Now it's time to drive out of the teammate's shadow for good.

Photo: Jerry Andre / IMAGO / Laci Perenyi

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Lewis Hamilton (England), Team: Mercedes

Russell's teammate is not just anyone, but record champion

.

But the seven-time Formula 1 world champion ended up behind Russell last year, and so the question arises: How strong is the 37-year-old?

And: How good is the

?

Hamilton also dominated Formula 1 for years because his racing car was completely superior to the competition.

Now it's about closing the gap to Red Bull and Ferrari - and ending Hamilton's golden career with dignity.

It is not yet clear when the Brit wants to stop.

Photo: Gongora / IMAGO / NurPhoto

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Sergio Pérez (Mexico), Team: Red Bull

He has perhaps the most thankless job in Formula 1:

is the clear number two at

and is expected to support Max Verstappen.

In this role, the Mexican must also perform well himself.

Such a status can lead to frustration, and the relationship between Pérez and world champion Verstappen can be described as not exactly friendly.

The 33-year-old warned before the start of the season: "If I see that I'm not getting the support I need, I won't give it back either.

That's logical.« It crackles before the new season.

Photo: Mark Thompson/Getty Images

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Max Verstappen (Netherlands), Team: Red Bull

He is ambitious, world champion in 2021 and 2022, mobilizes many fans and currently has the most powerful car

at

is the current dominator of Formula 1 and may one day become the defining figure of this sport .

At 25, the Dutchman still has many years ahead of him.

Verstappen is also going into the new season as a favorite.

Verstappen himself briefly raised doubts about his form a few days ago when he said he had gained "quite a lot" during the winter break.

But the extra pounds should already be gone.

Few doubt the mission title hat-trick these days.

Photo: Mark Thompson/Getty Images