Are these three drivers the next rookies to come into Formula 1? The pinnacle of motorsport has talented young drivers ready for the biggest stage.
As the 2022 Formula 1 season approaches the summer break, the rumblings about what next year’s lineup could look like are beginning to heat up.
Several drivers entered the season on the final year of their contracts, including the likes of Sergio Perez, Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso. However, Perez and Red Bull announced a contract extension after winning in Monaco, and Vettel and Alonso are likely to stay with their teams.
As of now, the only truly vulnerable driver is Williams’ Nicholas Latifi, whose poor performance this season will likely result in an exit from Formula 1. There are a slew of talented drivers who could see action in the future, but three names have been floated more than others.
So who could we see as the next faces of Formula 1? These three drivers are hoping to secure their seats in the most prestigious class of racing.
Possible Formula 1 rookies: No. 1 – Oscar Piastri
While Latifi has a fervent social media fan base that would rival the likes of some of the greatest athletes in sporting history, the Williams driver is likely on his way out of Formula 1 once his contract expires at the conclusion of the 2022 season. He is the only active driver who has yet to score a single point this season and has been regularly outperformed by teammate Alex Albon.
Alpine reserve driver Oscar Piastri has been tabbed as a potential successor to Latifi’s seat. He was even rumored to be in the mix for a vacant McLaren seat if Daniel Ricciardo didn’t return next season.
Piastri has enjoyed a highly successful racing career to date, having won the Formula 3 championship in 2020 and the Formula 2 championship in 2021. An official seat in Formula 1 would be the next step in his steady ascension through the ranks.
Despite his history, however, Piastri’s spot at Williams is far from settled. American Formula 2 driver Logan Sargeant’s back-to-back wins at Silverstone and Spielberg have catapulted him into conversation for a seat, even catching the eye of Williams team boss Jost Capito.
Nonetheless, Piastri is widely regarded as someone who is simply too good to not have a seat somewhere in Formula 1. Where he ends up is the only uncertainty at this stage.
Possible Formula 1 rookies: No. 2 – Colton Herta
Any chance of Colton Herta having a Formula 1 seat with McLaren in 2023 was essentially crushed after Daniel Ricciardo committed to finishing his contract. McLaren CEO Zak Brown said earlier that he had no intentions of moving or releasing Ricciardo, which confirmed that both parties were committed to the contract that pulled Ricciardo from Renault in 2021.
However, if Ricciardo’s woes continue into 2023, Brown would be left with no choice but to look for a new teammate for Lando Norris.
Enter Herta, who currently races for Andretti Autosport in IndyCar. His 2022 campaign has returned strong results, placing him eighth in the championship standings with one win.
Herta had been rumored to take Ricciardo’s spot next season before Brown announced that the team would keep him another year. He recently drove the McLaren car in a two-day test in Portugal, putting up impressive numbers.
Herta, who is just 22 years old, is looking to become the sole American driver in Formula 1. The last American to race in Formula 1 was Alexander Rossi, who moved to IndyCar in 2016.
Is Colton Herta the answer to the “American Dream”?
Possible Formula 1 rookies: No. 3 – Pato O’Ward
Much like Colton Herta, Mexican IndyCar driver Pato O’Ward has been linked with a move to the McLaren Formula 1 team. He currently sits in fifth place in the championship standings, having won two races this season.
More notably, O’Ward recently inked a contract extension with Arrow McLaren SP through 2025, and this includes the opportunity for him to move to the Formula 1 team, according to Zak Brown.
It seems as if O’Ward and Herta are battling it out for the chance to take over Daniel Ricciardo’s seat in 2024, assuming Ricciardo and/or McLaren choose not to extend. Similarly, O’Ward has test driven a McLaren Formula 1 car in the past.
“I was mind-blown at what the car was capable of,” O’Ward said in a recent interview with Romain Grosjean.
He went on to say that the experience was “one of the best experiences I’ve ever had in a race car.”
Strong results in the 2022 season combined with a charismatic personality have made O’Ward a fan favorite among McLaren fans. The name recognition could give him an edge over Herta for an open seat, but the commercial value that an American driver could bring to the team could sway Brown toward signing Herta.
Brown will be keeping a close eye on how the rest of the IndyCar season shapes out, because there is a real possibility that the driver who has the upper hand at the end of the season could turn that momentum into a Formula 1 seat with McLaren in the near future.