Just three of the 20 drivers who competed throughout the 2021 Formula 1 season are not set to return to the sport for the 2022 campaign.
The 22-race 2021 Formula 1 season came to an end more than three months ago in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit, and the 2022 season is now scheduled to get underway in less than a week.
Of the 20 drivers who competed full-time throughout the 2021 season, 17 are set to return for the 2022 season, though two are set to do so with different teams.
However, three drivers will not be back at all in the 2022 season.
Two of those three drivers are the two drivers who competed for Alfa Romeo. Kimi Raikkonen, the sport’s all-time most experienced driver, announced during the 2021 season that the 2021 season would be his last. The 2007 world champion has officially retired from Formula 1.
Raikkonen made his Formula 1 debut in 2001 with Sauber, which now operate under the Alfa Romeo branding, before moving to McLaren in 2002. He left for Ferrari after the 2006 season, and he stayed with the team through 2009. He then took a two-year hiatus from Formula 1 before returning in 2012 with Lotus.
After two seasons with Lotus, he returned to Ferrari in 2014 and remained there for five seasons. His move to Alfa Romeo ahead of the 2019 season was his final move before retirement.
The other former Alfa Romeo driver leaving Formula 1 is Antonio Giovinazzi. Giovinazzi made his Formula 1 debut for Sauber in 2017 as the replacement for the injured Pascal Wehrlein, and he competed in two races. He landed a full-time ride with Alfa Romeo in 2019 and was a teammate to Raikkonen in each of the last three seasons.
Giovinazzi has since moved to Formula E and competes for Dragon/Penske Autosport during the 2021-2022 season.
Set to replace Raikkonen and Giovinazzi are Valtteri Bottas and rookie Guanyu Zhou. Bottas is set to be replaced by George Russell at Mercedes, while Russell is set to be replaced by Alexander Albon, who previously competed in Formula 1 in 2019 and 2020, at Williams.
The other driver not returning to Formula 1 in 2022 is Nikita Mazepin, who spent just one season competing for Haas. He was not initially slated to be dropped by the team, but he was cut when they severed ties with title sponsor Uralkali following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Set to replace Mazepin is Kevin Magnussen, whom Mazepin ironically replaced when he was hired by the team in 2021.
While three drivers from 2021 will not be back in 2022, the returns of Albon and Magnussen after one-year hiatuses mean that Zhou is the lone true rookie set to compete.
The 2022 season is scheduled to get underway with the Bahrain Grand Prix at Bahrain International Circuit this Sunday, March 20. ESPN is set to broadcast the race live beginning at 11:00 a.m. ET, so be sure to start your free trial of FuboTV now!