When it comes to the youngest Formula 1 rookies, Lewis Hamilton has set the standard. In his first race in 2007, the McLaren rookie drove in a P3. He finished the season with three wins and was fighting for a drivers’ championship.
It’s fair to say that the trio of F1 drivers from the first year of 2021 didn’t do that well. Or almost the same. Or even remotely during the dramatic campaign.
Yuki Tsunoda made minimal impact, scoring 32 points. While that score is far from impressive, he outperformed his colleagues Mick Schumacher, who is trying to prove he’s a true F1 racing driver, and Nikita Mazepin.
The Haas team-mates often fought against each other on the final grid and couldn’t get an F1 point.
What are the prospects for the trio entering their second season?
Yuki Tsunoda, Alpha Tauri
Tsunoda entered the 22-race campaign with high expectations. Red Bull Racing’s driver advisor, Helmut Marko, who looked after the protégé in Formula 2, compared his driving skills with Max Verstappen when the 2021 world champion switched from Formula 2 to Formula 1 as a teenager.
Tsunoda showed great promise at the Formula 1 season opener, the Bahrain GP on March 28th. He was the first rookie to score points on a debut since Stoffel Vandoorne in 2016. After a nerve-wracking first lap, Tsunoda finally made it to P10. On the final spin, he defeated Lance Stroll and secured ninth place.
He showed a knack for saving his best for last. At the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on December 12th, he finished fourth in the season. He finished 14th in the F1 drivers’ championship.
Outlook for 2022: Tsunoda is expected to return to AlphaTauri and will fulfill the promise such F1 luminaries made to him at Marko.
Mick Schumacher, Haas
Schumacher has the genes. The 2020 F2 champion has the pedigree. He now has reserve driver status with Ferrari, the team that his father Michael made an industry phenomenon. Schumacher, a member of the Ferrari Academy, will serve as Ferrari’s F1 reserve driver at 11 of the 23 events in 2022. He will share the duties with Antonio Giovinazzi.
Schumacher was supposed to return to Haas for a second season in ’22, but failed to finish in the top 10 last season, 0-on-22. The F1 driver no. 19, Schumacher, was not able to consistently compete on the first starting grid. Even with background support from Ferrari.
Schumacher used a close combat in the first lap at the Hungarian GP on July 31 and used the additional distance for his best result (12th). Staring backwards, he worked his way up to the top group, where he kept both Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton behind for a while.
Outlook for 2022: Schumacher’s father won five of his seven Formula 1 titles with Ferrari, but the younger Schumacher has to worry about finding a way to get his current team – Haas – onto the podium, or at least into the points.
Nikita Mazepin, Haas
Haas will use a car – for Mick Schumacher – in the 2021 season finale after Nikita Mazepin was excluded due to a positive test for Covid-19 https://t.co/mbIhyDVxdU
– Formula 1 (@ F1) December 12, 2021
During a 2016 F3 event, he slapped a competitor in the face. Last year the emotional Mazepin tried to run Tsunoda over at Parc Ferme after an F2 race.
Mazepin’s rookie campaign was almost as chaotic, failing to score a point in 21 starts. Amid a series of spin-outs and bizarre maneuvers, his early crash at the Bahrain season opening GP and his lost lap time at the Brazilian GP proved to be a low point for the worst-placed rider.
While mostly keeping a cool head as an F1 rookie, Mazepin almost lost his nerve when he nearly forced his teammate Schumacher into the wall during the Dutch GP.
Mazepin was forced out of his seat during the season finale due to the coronavirus (COVID-19). His first season started roughly and ended in quarantine.
Outlook for 2022: To sustain an F1 season, Mazepin needs to keep his emotions under control. Better yet, he has to keep his machine under control to help Haas climb out of her pointless hole.
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