Oscar is coming into Formula 1 with a stellar resume winning Formula Renault (2019), Formula 3 (2020) and Formula 2 (2021) consecutively. This last year he was the Alpine reserve drive, doing a rigorous testing program to help maintain his skills. When it seemed like both Alpine seats were going to be taken for the next few years, and not wanting to be sidelined for another season, Piastri began to look for another drive. He and McLaren had reached a deal but Fernando Alonso’s departure brought on some chaos. Alpine chose to tweet that Piastri would be promoted, leading him to post what has now become an iconic reply (with many replicas being created). In the end, the Contracts Recognition Board concluded that Alpine did not have a standing claim to Piastri and his skills, leaving him free to drive for McLaren on a multi-year deal. Expectations are high for the rookie. He’s coming in with high levels of success (back-to-back F3 and F2 wins have only been done by two others: George Russell and Charles Leclerc), but he has had a full year out and likely got less care and attention from Alpine in the later half of the season. He is also jumping into a car that has achieved very mixed results and was disliked by both its previous drivers. A good year for Piastri will have him regularly reaching Q3, being in the low to mid points most races and not having a huge performance gap to his teammate, Lando Norris. A podium is certainly not out of the question (from a normal or surprise/chaotic race). The excitement over Oscar Piastri is very well deserved, and his rookie year could be a standout. But a solid season will be enough to set a good foundation for the rest of his F1 career.

Unlike many rookies who take a single ‘gap year’ between F2 and F1 Nyck has been on a three year, jam packed detour. From 2019-2022 he drove for the Mercedes-Benz EQ/Mercedes EQ Formula E team, winning the World Championship in 2020. He participated in the WEC in the LMP2 class, winning the 6 hrs of Fuji in 2019. He was also a Mercedes F1 team reserve driver, which resulted in him participated in a number of FP1 sessions for Mercedes PU teams and making his Grand Prix debut. At Monza (2022), De Vries replaced Alex Albon at Williams (appendicitis) from FP3 onwards. He qualified 13th and after a number of grid penalties started the race from 8th. He finished 9th, scoring points on debut and being voted Driver of the Day. This attracted the attention of a number of teams including Alpine, Williams and AlphaTauri, the later of whom he signed a one year contract with. His years of experience and maturity have many, including his team boss, believing he will not be a typical rookie and instead will ‘hit the ground running’. He’s also been described as very adaptable, with multiple teams praising how quickly he settle into their cars during his various FP1 sessions. His older age (28 at the start of the season) has been seen as both a positive and negative; he’s more experienced but has taken longer to get to this level and has possibly less longevity. This past year, the AlphaTauri car was quite uncompetitive. If this continues good results for De Vries would include regularly getting into Q2 and periodically into Q3, earning points in 25%-30% of races and matching the performance of teammate Yuki Tsunoda. Nyck de Vries has many people rooting for his success (Formula E fans, myself included) and his perseverance in commendable. But in a series with only 20 seats good results are a requirement, which he will hopefully meet. Or exceed.

Logan is entering Formula 1 after a very respectable season in Formula 2. He won 2 races and finished the season in fourth. He was also a part of the Williams Drivers Academy for the last two years (2021-2022). When a seat opened up at Williams, Sargeant was not the first choice. The initial plan was for him to complete an additional season or two in F2 before advancing. When no suitable alternative presented itself the team announced Sargeant as their driver, provided he earned enough Super License points. They ran him in multiple FP1 sessions to help ensure this. He got enough. Expectations for his first year are rather modest. As a team Williams’ performance has been lacking and while his driving record is quite good it is not exceptional. Which is the Formula 1 standard. A good year for Sargeant would have him making a handful of Q2 appearances, earning points at 3-4 races, and not crashing as much as his predecessor. As the first American on the grid since 2015, Logan will be getting a fair bit of attention (especially with three home races). His highs and lows will be noted more than the average rookie. Hopefully, there will be a number of good results and maybe one or two standout moments.