Formula 1: Bizarre statistic leading up to Sakhir Grand Prix
By Asher Fair
There was more movement in the Formula 1 driver lineup from last week to this week than there was from the 2019 season to the 2020 season, and the number of drivers making their Formula 1 debuts this season is set to triple this weekend alone.
For the sixth and final time in the 17-race 2020 Formula 1 season, the series is set to compete on a layout which was not initially on the calendar but was added as a result of the fact that 13 of the 22 initially scheduled venues were wiped away as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Following last Sunday’s race at Bahrain International Circuit, one of the nine tracks on the initial 2020 schedule that made it onto the revised 17-race version, albeit about eight months later, Formula 1 has remained at the venue for another round this week.
However, today’s race, the penultimate race of the season, is slated to take place on the 11-turn, 2.202-mile (3.544-kilometer) outer layout as opposed to the normal 15-turn, 3.363-mile (5.412-kilometer) road course in Sakhir, Bahrain.
And that isn’t the only change from last week…
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Believe it or not, from last week to this week alone, we have seen more driver movement across the Formula 1 grid than we saw all of last offseason. After his nasty accident in last Sunday’s race, Romain Grosjean has been sidelined by Haas for the weekend and replaced by Pietro Fittipaldi, who has never previously competed in a Formula 1 race.
In last Sunday’s race, Lewis Hamilton did what he does best: dominate. The win was the record 95th of his career and his fifth in a row, something he had only ever managed to do once before. However, he tested positive for COVID-19 following his victory, and for the first time in his career, he will not be in action this weekend, ending a record-breaking 265-race streak.
Mercedes called upon junior driver George Russell, who competes full-time for Williams, to replace the seven-time world champion. Set to replace Russell at Williams is Jack Aitken, who, like Fittipaldi, enters the weekend having never competed in a Formula 1 race.
From a driver movement standpoint, it’s almost as if we’ve entered a new season over the course of only five or six days.
After last year, there were only two changes to the driver lineup; this week alone, there have been three. Before the 2020 season, Renault replaced Nico Hulkenberg with Esteban Ocon, and Williams replaced Robert Kubica with rookie Nicholas Latifi.
So yes, the number of drivers to make their Formula 1 debuts in 2020 is set to triple this weekend alone.
Here is what the respective charts look like from last year to this year and from last weekend to this weekend.
2019 to 2020…
Renault
- IN: Esteban Ocon
- OUT: Nico Hulkenberg
Williams
- IN: Nicholas Latifi (R)
- OUT: Robert Kubica
This week alone…
Mercedes
- IN: George Russell
- OUT: Lewis Hamilton
Haas
- IN: Pietro Fittipaldi (R)
- OUT: Romain Grosjean
Williams:
- IN: Jack Aitken (R)
- OUT: George Russell
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The Sakhir Grand Prix is set to be broadcast live from Bahrain International Circuit beginning at 12:10 p.m. ET this afternoon. How will George Russell, Jack Aitken and Pietro Fittipaldi perform in their Mercedes, Williams and Haas debuts, respectively? They qualified in second, 18th and 20th place.