A Formula One debut is usually labelled as being a “baptism of fire” as young drivers step up from the feeder series to challenge the very best. 2013 has seen five new drivers join the sport, all of whom have considerable racing experience, but their first two races have differed in terms of success.
Esteban Gutierrez
Gutierrez has done a solid job so far for Sauber, but nothing out of the ordinary. In Australia, he represented the team alone following Nico Hulkenberg’s fuel system failure, and he finished a good 13th ahead of Valtteri Bottas. Malaysia was a difficult weekend, and he came close to scoring his first points, only to drop off at the end. It has been a good start for the Mexican, but nothing that will worry the front runners.
Valtteri Bottas
The Bottas revolution has been stunted greatly by the Williams FW35. It is unfortunate that the Finn’s long-anticipated debut has been hindered by a troublesome car, although this could in fact make his P11 in Malaysia a huge achievement. He outraced the backmarkers and Gutierrez to finish just outside the points, but his qualifying has lacked the spark that Maldonado gave the team last season. Regardless, outpeforming his race-winning teammate in both of the opening two races shows that Bottas is certainly quick.
Giedo van der Garde
At 27, van der Garde is by far the oldest rookie on the grid, yet his experience has failed to produce any inspired performances. It is true that both he and Charles Pic are struggling with the CT-02.5 (i.e. a lot of the 2012 car is in the CT03), but the Dutch driver looks set to be racing Max Chilton for last place this season unless his fortunes change.
Max Chilton
It is essentially the same story as van der Garde for Max Chilton, but his lack of experience compared to the Caterham driver could explain this. What will be worrying Chilton’s backers is the ease with which Jules Bianchi has outpaced him, but this yields the question: is Bianchi brilliant in a poor car, or is Chilton underperforming?
Jules Bianchi
Bianchi is undoubtedly the star of the ‘class of 2013’. In two races, he has already made a bigger impression than any of the Caterham or Marussia drivers since 2010, and comparisons are already being drawn to Fernando Alonso’s debut season with Minardi in 2001. The points drought for the backmarkers could soon end courtesy of Jules Bianchi. There is no doubt this kid is special.
