Will F1's next superstar emerge? What to watch for at 2023 Abu Dhabi GP

After initially challenging Red Bull in 2022, the Scuderia started this year on the back foot, but since captured the only non-Red Bull grand prix victory of the season in Singapore. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz have occupied just eight podium places compared to the 20 they scored last year, but when their car is in the sweet spot — as in Las Vegas — they can fight in the top three.

Both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell have failed to finish inside the top six at the last two grands prix, continuing the patchy form that has plagued Mercedes all season.

While recent results may be weighing the Brackley marque down, it knows how to succeed at Yas Marina. In F1’s 13 visits to Abu Dhabi, a Mercedes driver has claimed victory 38% of the time — the joint-best winning percentage of any F1 constructor alongside Red Bull.

Team principal and Mercedes CEO Toto Wolff has been positive about the team’s chances of a second place finish, but his comments reveal that he’s still sore from the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where a controversial late safety car decision made by race director Michael Masi cost Hamilton an eighth F1 world title.

“I think we’re going there pretty much equal on points, with a proper race director, so that should be fine,” Wolff told media after the Las Vegas GP. “And then let’s race. It’s all down to the last weekend. [Ferrari] are very quick and done a good job. I think we could have been on par [in Las Vegas] but the result shows something different. So let’s race.”

“To be honest it’s good to have P2 as a positive to finish the season but P2, P3 for me…it doesn’t make me particularly cheer anyway.”

A glimpse into the future: the rookie drivers competing in FP1

Ahead of competitive action on 2023’s final race weekend, nine teams will be fielding 10 different drivers in FP1 as part of their obligation to run a rookie in each car in at least two practice sessions throughout the year. Given the heightened competition in the midfield, and a hectic end to the year — with several sprint races and a new grand prix in Las Vegas — most teams considered Abu Dhabi as the logical round for regular drivers to forfeit some valuable practice time in exchange for a glimpse at F1’s possible stars of the future.

Among them will be some familiar names: F2 drivers Théo Pourchaire, Frederik Vesti and Ollie Bearman will take to the track once again after initial outings in Mexico City — the latter proving to be the quickest of the bunch while others struggled with mechanical and technical issues. Team reserve drivers Robert Shwartzman (Ferrari), Felipe Drugovich (Aston Martin) and Jack Doohan (Alpine) will also make re-appearances, but there will also be some new faces.

Jake Dennis may be the most surprising newcomer, having previously secured a debut Formula E world title in July with Andretti. He will be taking over Sergio Perez‘s Red Bull, while F2 driver Isack Hadjar will replace Max Verstappen.

IndyCar star Pato O’Ward will also make his second F1 appearance for McLaren this weekend, having previously made his debut during the 2022 Abu Dhabi GP weekend.

If ever there was an opportunity for an up-and-coming driver to shine, it’s at Abu Dhabi, where teams will also be conducting a young driver test on the Tuesday after the race. Many of the same names will be back in the cars, as well as additional drivers. Although the 2024 F1 grid looks settled, A head-turning performance at Yas Marina could at least put F1 team bosses on for the following year, when a large number of contracts expire.

Here is a full list of every rookie driver competing in Abu Dhabi’s FP1: 

Pourchaire vs Vesti: The F2 title battle 

There will be a title-decider in Abu Dhabi, but it’s left to F2 to deliver it.

The premier F1 feeder series has produced 12 different race winners throughout the 2023 campaign; only two remain in contention for the F2 champion at the season finale. Théo Pourchaire currently leads the way for ART Grand Prix, with Prema‘s Frederik Vesti trailing by 25 points in second place.

While the former was a pre-season favourite for the drivers’ crown, Vesti came into the season as an underdog but has since impressed immensely. Following a nightmare start in Bahrain — from which he failed to score a single point — the Dane has gone on to score five wins and eight podiums across the season — the most of any driver, including Pourchaire.

But with his success has come some torrid lows, including a crash on the way to the feature race grid at Spa, a pitstop nightmare which resulted in the loss of both his rear tyres at Zandvoort and a collision with Roman Stanek at Monza.

With a maximum of 11 points on offer from Saturday’s Sprint and a further 27 from Sunday’s feature race, it would take a weekend-long meltdown from Pourchaire for him to lose out on the drivers’ crown. It wouldn’t be the first title showdown where the pressure has taken its toll.

Secure seats: Are Perez and Sargeant now safe from F1 expulsion? 

Logan Sargeant remains the only driver on the current grid with an unconfirmed future, with his one-year deal at Williams set to expire after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The American’s underwhelming performance for much of his debut F1 campaign pointed toward an early exit, having been out-qualified by team-mate Alex Albon in every race so far while also scoring just 3% of the teams championship points. But positive drives in Brazil and Las Vegas may have eased the speculation over his future. He climbed from 19th to 11th in Sao Paulo, before qualifying an impressive seventh in Nevada — just two-tenths behind his team-mate.

Team principal James Vowles had previously stated his intentions to retain the young American for 2024, but required him to “close the gap to Alex” and “score some points”. With both those challenges looking more complete, a contract extension could be on the cards.

Similarly, the future of Sergio Perez is now on more certain ground after a brilliant performance in Las Vegas — in which the Mexican converted a 12th-place start into a deserved podium finish. The result not only secured second in the drivers’ standings, but also dampened suggestions that he might fall victims to Red Bull’s axe.

Perez will enter the final year of his current Red Bull deal in 2024, so the pressure will only mount to keep performing.