The last glimmer of hope that the 2024 F1 grid would feature a rookie driver vanished this week, as Williams confirmed they would retain Logan Sargeant for another season. Not newly crowned F2 champion Théo Pourchaire, nor his title rival Frederik Vesti, nor even AlphaTauri stand-in Liam Lawson got a spot on the grid for 2024. Why haven’t teams hired them to race seats?

By Steven Walton

Often there’s a small group of rookies on each year’s F1 grid. This year, there was Oscar Piastri, Logan Sargeant, Nyck de Vries and – for five rounds – Lawson. The 2021 season brought Mick Schumacher, Nikita Mazepin and Yuki Tsunoda, while 2019 featured a particularly memorable group consisting of Alex Albon, Antonio Giovinazzi, Lando Norris and George Russell. When Lewis Hamilton got his start in F1 in 2007, he was one of four rookies at the beginning of the year. As it went on, another three drivers, including Sebastian Vettel, made their F1 debuts.

Some F1 teams could have hired rookies for 2024, but they all chose to retain their existing drivers, showing a desire for stability.

Lawson appeared to have a chance at an AlphaTauri seat even before he stood in for the injured Daniel Ricciardo for five races in the second half of 2023. He impressively survived wet conditions in his first appearance at August’s Dutch Grand Prix. A few weeks later in Singapore, he memorably finished ninth, netting two points and what was then AlphaTauri’s best result of the year. Still, less than a week after that head-turning Singapore result, AlphaTauri confirmed their 2024 line-up would be Tsunoda and Ricciardo. AlphaTauri boss Franz Tost said at the time that it was “logical to go for continuity” in their line-up because next year’s technical regulations would be largely unchanged.

Alfa Romeo Sauber also passed over their reserve driver Théo Pourchaire for 2024. In September, the team chose to extend the contract of Zhou Guanyu for a third season even though Pourchaire, with a 25-point lead with just one round to go, was the clear favourite to win the F2 championship at the time. Team representative Alessandro Alunni Bravi said the lineup choice was “a conscious decision to focus on stability”.

Haas also underlined stability when they chose their 2024 line-up. Just before the Dutch Grand Prix in August, the team confirmed midfield veterans Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hülkenberg would continue as teammates in 2024. Team principal Guenther Steiner said at the time the duo, who have more than 350 races of F1 experience between them, was “extremely solid” and “there was no reason to look to change that.”

Still, it’s not a simple case of overlooking would-be rookies. Yes, they’re not on the grid, but several young drivers will continue to be involved in F1 as reserve drivers. Pourchaire holds that role for Alfa Romeo; Lawson does it for Red Bull and AlphaTauri; and Jack Doohan, who finished third in this year’s F2 championship, is the man for Alpine. Felipe Drugovich, the 2022 F2 champion, also remains Aston Martin’s reserve driver.

It’d be wrong to think that the lack of F1 rookies in 2024 is due to a drop in interest from F1 teams in juniors. Seven of the 14 drivers confirmed to be racing in F2 next year are part of F1 teams’ academies. They are Mercedes junior Kimi Antonelli, Alpine Academy driver Kush Maini, Williams Driver Academy members Zak O’Sullivan and Franco Colapinto, McLaren development driver Gabriel Bortoleto, and Red Bull juniors Isack Hadjar and Pepe Martí. Alpine Academy driver Victor Martins and Ferrari Driver Academy member Ollie Bearman are also widely expected to return to F2 in 2024.

This shows there are plenty of promising juniors on the cusp of F1. Still, F1 teams are likely wary about whether they are ready to jump up to a race seat. From this year’s group of rookies, two – De Vries and Sargeant – struggled, while the other two – Piastri and Lawson – slotted in seamlessly.

An interesting characteristic that differentiates Piastri and Lawson from Sargeant is that the first two had longer waits between their final F2 races and their first F1 appearances. Sargeant joined Williams just months after concluding his sole season in F2, while Piastri and Lawson stayed on the sidelines of F1 after F2. Piastri spent a year as an Alpine reserve, while Lawson headed off to Super Formula, in which he finished second.

This type of career path is becoming more common for junior drivers. In 2024, Red Bull junior Ayumu Iwasa, who finished fourth in this year’s F2 championship, will follow in Lawson’s footsteps and switch to Super Formula. A similar move could also happen for Pourchaire, who is testing a Super Formula car this week. Both Doohan and Vesti, this year’s F2 runner-up, won’t return to F2 in 2024. It remains to be seen whether they’ll find racing seats in other series.

These junior drivers may not compose the 2024 F1 rookie crop, but it doesn’t mean they’ll never be F1 rookies. Recent history shows that if they do eventually step up, they may be better for the wait.

Header photo credit: Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake