Why are teams not hiring young drivers?
Key driver decisions made this year suggest F1 teams don't want to place their faith in rookies.
The Mexican Grand Prix weekend began with a spotlight on talented young drivers, though the unfortunate reality is that they all face a difficult path to the grid in years to come.
Current Formula 2 drivers Jack Doohan, Theo Pourchaire, Oliver Bearman, Isack Hadjar, and Fred Vesti all got a taste of F1 machinery during the first practice session in Mexico.
F1 teams must run junior drivers in at least two practice sessions each year.
Despite their Mexico appearance, none of those junior drivers will be on the grid in 2024 - because teams have opted for continuity and experience with their driver line-ups.
This was best displayed by AlphaTauri deciding against giving young gun Liam Lawson a 2024 seat, instead choosing to sign Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo.
Lawson missed out despite his scintillating efforts while filling in at AlphaTauri during five races this year. Lawson was quick throughout and comfortably held his own. He even scored points in Singapore.
Meanwhile, Alfa Romeo chose this year to retain existing driver Zhou Guanyu for 2024, a decision which leaves the team’s academy driver, Theo Pourchaire, sitting on the sidelines next season.
Pourchaire couldn’t have done much more to make a case for a race seat - he is poised to win this year’s Formula 2 championship, a year after he finished as runner-up in the series.
Haas is another team that could’ve taken a bet on a rookie for 2024, but they instead chose to extend the contracts of midfield veterans Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen.
Felipe Drugovich also hasn’t managed to break into F1 full-time despite winning the Formula 2 championship in 2022.
There’s now a very good chance that every team will field unchanged driver line-ups in 2024 - which would also mean there would be no rookies on the grid.
So, why are teams hesitant to bring in fresh talent?
Young drivers face an uphill battle because there is minimal testing time available to them and the racing atmosphere in F1 is more competitive than ever.
Williams team boss James Vowles said earlier this year that Logan Sargeant - a rookie in 2023 - had “a day and a half of testing” F1 machinery before his debut.
“I think, when I reflect on this year, this is probably more difficult than any other year I’ve been in the sport for throwing someone in at the deep end and allowing them the time to catch up,” Vowles said.
Franz Tost, the outgoing longtime boss of AlphaTauri, has consistently said F1 is tough for rookies.
“I always say a young driver needs three years to understand … F1, because F1 has become much more complicated compared to years before,” Tost told RacingNews365.com in 2021.
Earlier this year, Haas team principal Guenther Steiner suggested to Motorsport.com that having more experienced drivers was helping his team get on top of issues quicker.
So, is a rookie a risk for teams? There were mixed fortunes for those who made their debuts in 2023.
AlphaTauri’s Nyck de Vries struggled from day one and, as a consequence, was spectacularly cut from the team before the mid-season break and replaced by Daniel Ricciardo.
At Williams, rookie driver Logan Sargeant has struggled throughout 2023 and it’s still unclear whether he’ll keep his seat next season.
But on the other hand, rookies Oscar Piastri and Liam Lawson excelled from day one.
Lawson barely put a foot wrong during his five-race stint this year, while Piastri has been so good at McLaren that he’s already had his contract extended until the end of 2026.
Piastri also took his first-ever F1 victory in Qatar by winning the sprint race.
In Singapore, pundit and former driver Martin Brundle said there was a theory among F1 teams “that with the way we’re limited in testing in Formula 1 now … it’s hard to bring rookies along and things need changing.”
“But look at what Oscar Piastri is doing, look at what Liam Lawson is doing … the rookies are settling in just fine.”