F1 2019 Grid: The Teams and Drivers Racing This Year

The countdown has begun for the start of the 2019 Formula One season but before the first rubber hits the road, let’s take a look at the teams and drivers who will compose this year’s Formula One World Championship.

When Does It Start?

As it is every season, the Formula One season will begin at Australia’s Melbourne Park for the Melbourne Grand Prix. This year, that race is scheduled for March 17, 2019 which makes the date the official start of the 2019 F1 season.

In all, the 2019 Formula One World Championship season will be composed of 21 Grand Prix races held in different parts of the globe. Each Grand Prix is raced over a number of laps that have a total distance of 305 KM except the Monaco Grand Prix which is only 260 KM long.

Here is the 2019 F1 Racing Calendar which lists down all the races included in the 2019 F1 World Championship:

• March 17 – Australian Grand Prix (Melbourne Grand Prix)
• March 31 – Bahrain Grand Prix (Bahrain International Circuit)
• April 14 – Chinese Grand Prix (Shanghai International Circuit)
• April 28 – Azerbaijan Grand Prix (Baku City Circuit)
• May 12 – Spanish Grand Prix (Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya)
• May 26  – Monaco Grand Prix (Circuit de Monaco)
• June 9 – Canadian Grand Prix (Circuit Gilles Villeneuve)
• June 23 – French Grand Prix (Circuit Paul Ricard)
• June 30 – Austrian Grand Prix (Red Bull Ring)
• July 14 – British Grand Prix (Silverstone)
• July 28 – German Grand Prix (Hockenheimring)
• August 4 – Hungarian Grand Prix (Hungaroring)
• September 1 – Belgian Grand Prix (Circuit de Spa Francorchamps)
• September 8 – Italian Grand Prix (Autodromo Nazionale Monza)
• September 22 – Singapore Grand Prix (Marina Bay Street Circuit)
• September 29 – Russian Grand Prix (Sochi Autodrom)
• October 13 – Japanese Grand Prix (Suzuka Circuit)
• October 27 – Mexican Grand Prix (Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez)
• November 3 – United States Grand Prix (Circuit of the Americas)
• November 17 – Brazilian Grand Prix (Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace)
• December 1 – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (Yas Marina Circuit)

Who Are Racing In the 2019 F1 World Championship?

There are 10 participating teams in this year’s F1 World Championship and every team has two drivers each to represent them.

If you followed the F1 World Championship last season, you would be surprised at this year’s roster because there have been a host of changes in the teams and drivers.

Two teams have new names as the iconic Sauber has been renamed as Alfa Romeo Racing. Meanwhile, Force India is now known as Racing Point. Change didn’t just come in the name of teams because Red Bull switched to using Honda engines after ending its dozen years agreement with Renault. As a result, Red Bull joins sister team Scuderia Toro Rosso as Honda engine users.

Likewise, there were plenty of driver movements during the offseason. The exciting Charles LeClerc joined Ferrari after one year with Sauber. LeClerc replaces Kimi Raikkonen who in turn moved back to Alfa Romeo (Sauber) where he his career began in 2001.

Daniel Ricciardo also left Red Bull after five years. The Aussie is now with Renault as a replacement for Carlos Sainz Jr. who moved to McLaren to take the place of two-time winner Fernando Alonso. Sainz will be paired with 2017 European Formula 3 champion Lando Norris after Stoffel Vandoorne left McLaren after the 2018 season to join the HWA Team in Formula 3.

Meanwhile, Ricciardo’s slot at Red Bull was taken by Pierre Gasly who was promoted from Red Bull’s sister team Scuderia Toro Rosso. Daniil Kvyat returns to Toro Rosso in lieu of Gasly. Kvyat will be paired with Formula 2 driver Alexander Albon who takes over from Brendon Hartley. Albon is only the second Thai driver to race in Formula One after Prince Bira who started in the 1954 Spanish Grand Prix.

Robert Kubica returns to Formula One racing after a near fatal 2011 accident. Kubica joins the reigning Formula 2 champion George Russell as the main drivers for Williams. Kubica replaces Sergey Sirotkin while Russell take over from Lance Stroll who joined Racing Point.

But even with all the movement and changes that happened after the 2018 season, the storyline for 2019 remains the same: Lewis Hamilton vs Sebastian Vettel. Last season, Hamilton won 11 out of the 21 races to clinch his fifth drivers championship, his fourth in the last five years. With Hamilton’s success, Mercedes also claimed a fifth consecutive constructors championship in 2018.

Vettel was Hamilton’s chief rival in 2018 as he went toe-to-toe with the Brit in the first half of the season. Vettel and Hamilton won five Grand Prix each in the first 13 legs of the championship before the Brit went on a hot streak of six victories in the last eight races. Although Hamilton was the runaway winner last year, Vettel is seen as the driver who can challenge him, if at all, in 2019.

According to betmaker Bovada (as of 2/25/19), Hamilton is the odds-on-favorite to win again this year at -110. Meanwhile, Vettel came back at +250 and in second place. The popular Max Verstappen of Red Bull is the third wheel in the betting conversation at +650. Also pegged at +650 is the 21 year old LeClerc who is considered a rising star in the sport.

Here are the official list of teams and drivers for the 2019 Formula One season:

Here are the the 2019 Engine Suppliers as well: