Formula 1 2019 is here, and new season excitement has well and truly begun, with the car reveals coming thick and fast during February. The first pre-season test in Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya has been far from incident free and has whet the appetite of all Formula 1 fans across the globe.

Four debutants to F1 in Lando Norris, Alexander Albon, Antonio Giovinazzi and George Russell also raise an eyebrow of competitiveness ahead of the first race. As Formula 2 fans will know, no quarter is given between these three.

This team by team guide on the upcoming season will give you a flavour of what is expected over the next 9 months. Hopefully, it sets you up perfectly for the first Grand Prix of 2019 in Melbourne on March 17th.

Mercedes

Mercedes approach 2019 having won the last 5 Constructors Championships, and have Lewis Hamilton as reigning champion.

The team maintains their driver line-up for 2019 in Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas. As a result, they are undoubtedly favourite to dominate the 2019 season.  However, they will have to fight off an Italian assault from the ever-improving Ferrari team in order to do so. Business as usual for the German team though as they enter 2019 as double champions.

Ferrari

Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc make up the numbers at Ferrari for the season. Leclerc, the Monagas driver, will certainly be one to watch this season. As Vettel himself has said “Leclerc is a full rival”, and won’t be as passive as Kimi Raikkonen was last season.

Ferrari haven’t won a World Championship since 2007, and are in desperate need to once again be the best in F1. They’re my tip for the Championship this year, with Vettel being crowned World Champion for the 5th time.

Red Bull

Red Bull Racing have held a front row seat in the Mercedes-Ferrari battle of recent years. Yet they haven’t made a noticeable impact outside of a couple of wins last season.

Their new partnership with Honda to supply their engines, on paper looks like a step backwards for Red Bull. However, constant and heart-breaking failures of their Renault engines last season forced them to make a change. So far, the early signs from testing the new engines all appear positive. 

The young talented pair of Max Verstappen and Pierre Gasly make up the seats at Red Bull.

Renault

In the offseason, Renault made the incredible signing of Daniel Ricciardo from Red Bull.  The Formula 1 2019 season will see him partnered with the ‘best of the rest’ champion of 2018, Nico Hulkenberg.

This exciting line-up for Renault does make them a dark horse ahead of the new season. As well as possibly keeping Red Bull looking in their mirrors in the early stages of the season.

The inter-team battle between these two experienced drivers will be great to watch and will be nip and tuck race by race.

Haas

Rich Energy Haas as they are now known surely won livery of the new season. With a black and gold design reminiscent of the Lotus F1 cars of 2012. 

An unchanged driver line-up of Romain Grosjean and the very watchable Kevin Magnussen makes Haas one of just two teams to be unchanged from 2018, Mercedes are the other.

The American team will hope to beat Renault to the ‘best of the rest’ trophy in 2019 and improve on the already great progression they’ve made since their introduction into F1 in 2015.

McLaren

McLaren’s troubles have been enormous since their downturn in 2013. With the loss of the fan favourite, 2 times World Champion, Fernando Alonso, there is no guarantee that 2019 will see the revival of this historic F1 team.

A completely new line-up of Carlos Sainz and the young Brit Lando Norris should help keep the hope alive. As Norris is considered the future of F1 amongst other youngsters this year. A positive and incident free pre-season testing is a good sign for the British team and they could challenge Renault and Haas for ‘best of the rest’ this season.

Racing Point

SportPesa Racing Point F1 team, formerly Force India, keep the ‘pink panther’ livery to the relief of some fans. They have however changed their driver line-up. With Sergio Perez, and the young Canadian, Lance Stroll joining his Dad’s team.

A mixed season in 2018 saw administration and new ownership. A fresh start could do them good and with the backing of billionaire Lawrence Stroll, they could challenge further up the grid this season.

Alfa Romeo

Alfa Romeo replace Sauber F1 for 2019.  They made an instant impact with the signing of veteran world champion, Kimi Raikkonen from Ferrari. The debutant Antonio Giovinazzi also joins him at the Italian team.

The mix of young and old at Alfa Romeo should show an interesting inter-team battle through the season. The return of a classic car manufacturer to Formula 1 can only be good for the sport. Plus it shows a willingness from Alfa to test themselves at the top once more. Given that Alfa Romero haven’t appeared in Formula 1 since 1985.

Torro Rosso

Torro Rosso have re-hired Daniil Kvyat after he was dropped from the Red Bull programme in 2017. He will be joined by the exciting Alexander Albon who impressed in Formula 2 last season.

A challenge for points will be Torro Rosso’s primary aim following last season. The team came 9th in last year’s Constructors Championship emphasising the reasoning behind the two new drivers.

Williams

Finally, Williams had the worst 2018; scoring just 7 points. 2019 has started no better, as the team missed the first two days of testing. On a positive note, the driver line-up has fans excited. Veteran Robert Kubica returns to Formula 1 after his exit in 2011 following his crash during a rally stage.

The 2018 Formula 2 Champion George Russell will partner Kubica and gives Williams a great chance of climbing up the leader board for 2019.

2019 Race Schedule

Hopefully, this brief preview to the new season has got you in the mood for racing and with less than 3 weeks until lights out in Melbourne, you haven’t got long to wait. 

The 2019 Formula 1 Calendar will consist of 21 races as it did in 2018. Make sure to note down the dates in your calendar and check back for our F1 coverage as the season progresses.

  • 15-17 March: Australian GP
  • 29-31 March: Bahrain GP
  • 12-14 April: Chinese GP
  • 26-28 April: Azerbaijan GP
  • 10-12 May: Spanish GP
  • 23, 25-26 May: Monaco GP
  • 7-9 June: Canadian GP
  • 21-23 June: French GP
  • 28-30 June: Austrian GP
  • 12-14 July: British GP
  • 26-28 July: German GP
  • 2-4 August: Hungarian GP
  • 30 Aug – 1 Sep: Belgian GP
  • 6-8 September: Italian GP
  • 20-22 September: Singapore GP
  • 27-29 September: Russian GP
  • 11-13 October: Japanese GP
  • 25-27 October: Mexican GP
  • 1-3 November: US GP
  • 15-17 November: Brazilain GP
  • 29 Nov -1 Dec: Abu Dhabi GP

Featured image courtesy of Artes Max. Displayed under Creative Commons.