Every season is made of ten teams, each of which has two drivers. With only 20 drivers on the track, F1 has become one of the most exclusive sports in the world, and it is so much easier to learn about every participant. Despite each team only having two drivers, there is always a reserve driver who is slightly different from the ‘third driver’. Today we’re going to go in-depth on the only 20 Formula One drivers in the world along with a couple of fun reserve drivers and third drivers. 

2023 Formula One Drivers

Red Bull

-Max Verstappen

-Sergio ‘Checo’ Perez

-Daniel Ricciardo – third driver

Ferrari

-Charles Leclerc

-Carlos Sainz

Mercedes

–George Russel

-Lewis Hamilton

-Mick Schumacher – reserve driver

Alpine

-Esteban Ocon

-Pierre Gasly

McLaren

-Lando Norris

-Oscar Piastri

Alfa Romeo

-Valtteri Bottas

-Guanyu Zhou

Aston Martin

-Fernando Alonso

-Lance Stroll

Haas

-Kevin Magnussen

-Nico Hulkenberg

Alpha Tauri

-Yuki Tsunoda

-Nyck De Vries 

Williams

-Alex Albon

-Logan Sargeant

Red Bull

It’s safe to say that Red Bull is following the ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it’ philosophy. Since they won the World Constructors’ Championship in 2022, Red Bull has decided to maintain its previous driver lineup. Max Verstappen won the 2022 World Drivers’ Championship with his teammate Sergio ‘Checo’ Perez finishing 3rd. Team CEO and principal Christain Horner has confirmed that he is comfortable with the current lineup and sees no need to modify it. 

During the off-season, Red Bull Racing announced a new contractual partnership with former driver Daniel Ricciardo (Dan Ric, DR3, or, simply, Danny). Following a season with McLaren in 2022 where Ricciardo finished 11th in the championship, the team and driver decided to part ways. Daniel has stated that this is best for his mental health and it will allow him the opportunity to ‘fall back in love with the sport.’ He previously drove with Red Bull on a 10-year contract before the agreement was not renewed in 2018. Both the other drivers and the company are excited about this partnership due to Daniel’s constant humor and positive attitude. 

Ferrari

In the 2023 season, Ferrari will be following Red Bull’s strategy (if only they’d done that before) and decided to keep their driver lineup from 2022. The team came in 2nd in last year’s WCC and Charles Leclerc also managed to secure 2nd place in the WDC. Carlos Sainz finished the season in 5th, so the team is optimistic for the future with two high-scoring drivers. Despite the previous disappointment for many Ferrari fans, the team seems to have high hopes for the new season as a result of the newly appointed team principal Fred Vasseur. 

Ferrari is often regarded as the best team in the history of F1 as they hold the record for the most WCCs, WDCs, and the most Grand Prix victories. The team has been unable to clench a victory in the constructors’ championship since 2008 or a drivers’ championship since 2007, but fans have begun to rally since the signing of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz who seem to be the answer to Ferrari’s prayers. 

Mercedes

For the second year in a row, Mercedes will be racing with experienced Formula One drivers, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell. After finishing third in the constructors’ championship, the team principal Toto Wolff has decided to continue with the success of his two drivers. Lewis Hamilton is a seven-time world champion, six of which he won with Mercedes and George Russel is a relatively new driver, but he was able to win his first Formula 1 race last season in Brazil. 

Mercedes’ reserve driver for this season is a fan favorite due in part to his last name but mostly because of his handsome disposition. Mick Schumacher is the son of seven-time World Drivers’ Championship winner Michael Schumacher. Often referred to as the greatest driver in history, Schumacher is an iconic name that put eyes on Mick since he was in karting. After spending a season racing for Haas, the driver decided to set his sights higher and is now the reserve driver for Mercedes. He can often be seen alongside Toto Wolff or in edits on TikTok. 

Alpine

Unlike the previous teams, Alpine was forced to replace one of their drivers for the 2023 season. The team finished 4th in last year’s WCC, but they were unable to retain two-time world champion Fernando Alonso for the 2023 season. This season will feature Esteban Ocon, who finished 8th in the championship with Alpine, and former Red Bull and Alpha Tauri driver, Pierre Gasly. 

The team this year is definitely hitting the French theme hard as both drivers are from Normandy. Pierre and Esteban have known each other for over a decade since they began racing together when they were children. Although years of competition have slightly strained their relationship, both drivers are confident that they will be able to put aside their differences to achieve a successful season. 

McLaren

This is one of the teams that has been granted significant media attention for the selection of their 2023 Formula One drivers. After finishing 5th in the 2022 championship, principal Zak Brown demanded a change in their lineup. Before the season had concluded, McLaren announced that they would be parting from driver Daniel Ricciardo as well as suspending his contract. Daniel Ricciardo finished out the season ending in 11th place, but he was replaced for the 2022 season by Oscar Piastri. 

Oscar Piastri will join Lando Norris on the grid for 2022. Norris also signed with the team at a relatively young age and has since made the podium 6 times, but has yet to win a race. Last season, though, he finished 7th just behind the Mercedes champion Lewis Hamilton. Additionally, due to the teammates’ close age, they seem to get along quite well and will hopefully be able to better the team’s standing in 2023. 

Alfa Romeo

Alfa Romeo finished last season’s WCC in sixth place, but they seem to be content with their current driver lineup. They believe that they will find success with the young driver Guanyu Zhou and ten-time race winner Valtteri Bottas. Zhou was able to come in 18th place in his rookie season and Bottas ended in 10th. Overall, the team seems confident that they will only move closer to the championship teams, and they want to do so with their current drivers. 

Aston Martin

Aston Martin is another team that experienced the loss and gain of Formula One drivers. The green team was home to four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel following his move from Ferrari, but at the end of the 2022 season, he announced his retirement. Due to the team’s position as seventh in the championship and the newly vacant seat, they saw an opportunity to increase their chances for the coming season. Replacing one veteran with another, Aston Martin signed Fernando Alonso as their new 2023 driver in hopes that his 23 wins and 2 world championships will be the push needed to move them to the top of the leader board. 

Alonso will race alongside Lance Stroll who finished last year’s season in 15th place. There is often a lot of chatter in terms of Stroll’s abilities on the track due to his father’s substantial investment in the racing team; however, he has shown improvement in his past F1 seasons and Fernando seems confident that they will be able to fight for a higher position than last year. 

Haas

This season, Haas has made a move toward experience over potential. After the movement of Mick Schumacher to Mercedes, Haas was left with an open seat next to Kevin Magnussen who finished ended the season in 13th place. The team sought out the F1 know-how of Nico Hulkenberg to improve the team’s chances in the 2023 season. 

While Magnussen and Hulkenberg do have nearly 20 years of Formula One experience combined, neither teammate has won a Grand Prix. There is hope for the future, though, as the Haas principal has stated his high expectations for the season. 

Alpha Tauri

After two seasons with the same driver lineup, Alpha Tauri will be exchanging Pierre Gasly for F2 champion Nyck De Vries. Gasly ended last season in 14th place and has since accepted an offer from Alpine to race in the 2023 season. De Vries will be joining Alpha Tauri veteran Yuki Tsunoda for the new season

Although Alpha Tauri has not been highly successful in the past, the introduction of Nyck De Vries has fans excited about the possibilities after he scored points for Williams as their reserve driver in 2022. The team is hoping for a higher position in the 2023 constructors’ championship, and the new lineup may just get them there. 

Williams

Williams finished last in the 2022 WCC along with both of their Formula One drivers finishing at the bottom of the WDC. The historically strong team has seen setbacks for the past decade, but the new driver lineup makes me very happy, to say the least. Along with former Red Bull driver Alex Albon, we will be seeing Logan Sargeant racing in Williams’ blue. Logan is the first American Formula One driver in nearly 8 years, and he is from my home state of Florida! We grew up around 9 hours from each other, so I am ecstatic to see what he can accomplish. 

With one of the youngest driving pairs on the track, Williams is hoping to crush the 2023 season while also setting up the future of the company. Hopefully, Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant are able to succeed leaps and bounds ahead of the team’s current position. 

Read: ‘Logan Sargeant: America’s Glorious Return to Formula One‘ for more on the American!

Now that we have seen the newest Formula One drivers for the 2023 season, we can begin to feel the thrill of the season! The driving talent appears to be spread out pretty well with Grand Prix champions on six of the ten teams, so I anticipate a fight for every position this season. Stick around to stay up to date about the drivers and the 2023 season!