How did the 2023 F1 rookies fare in Bahrain?

The new faces on the 2023 F1 grid experienced varying degrees of success in their first outing as fully minted full-time drivers. But how did the trio of Nyck de Vries, Oscar Piastri, and Logan Sargeant stack up, and what do the numbers tell us about their races in Bahrain?

Jake Boxall-Legge Mar 8, 2023, 10:38 AM

In many regards, it’s a lot more challenging to be a rookie driver in Formula 1 in the modern era. Testing is considerably more limited than it ever was, and the days of newcomers being granted endless track time in closed-door sessions away from the prying eyes of the media offered a low-pressure environment for them to learn their craft.

Consider some of the great rookie performances of the last 20 years, and the context of unadulterated odometer-ticking days at Jerez or Barcelona perhaps knocks some of the shine off – Lewis Hamilton’s podium first time out in Melbourne and Sebastian Vettel’s points-scoring run at Indianapolis were aided considerably by testing programmes and the days of third cars in practice sessions respectively.

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Author Jake Boxall-Legge

Having studied Automotive Engineering with Motorsport at the University of Hertfordshire, West Country-born Jake's original ambition was to design racing cars. During a year between studies in which he accidentally rekindled a love of writing, he took up a Master's in Motorsport Engineering at Oxford Brookes. Halfway through his master's year, he was offered a place on the Autosport Academy, conducting occasional freelance duties before becoming the press officer for Formula 2 and GP3 in 2018. Autosport offered him a return to the fold later that year to serve as its Technical Editor. His voice appears on a number of videos and podcasts, and can often be found writing about terrible Formula 1 cars in excruciating detail. In his spare time, Jake enjoys baking and blames his failure to make it past the Great British Bake-Off interviews on his tenuous grasp on choux pastry. His dream is to open a brunch cafe - and his willingness to make outrageous puns in inappropriate situations has earned him the contempt of his colleagues.