Albon, Norris and Russell: 2019 debutants reunited in 2022

With the return of Alex Albon to the 2022 grid, we see the reunion of 3/4ths of the 2019 rookie class. Alex Albon, George Russell, and Lando Norris all made their debuts in Australia in 2019, meanwhile, the 4th rookie of the class was Antonio Giovinazzi who made his debut in Australia in 2017, but didn’t complete a full season until 2019. Although in comparison to when they were last on track together in 2020, the dynamic this year will be a little different.

Albon, Russell and Norris always had chemistry off the track starting through their 2018 F2 campaign where they finished 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in the championship respectively, before all graduating to F1. Upon moving up to the premier class, Albon and Norris were given seats in the midfield with Toro Rosso and McLaren respectively, and Russell was in the backmarker Williams. That was until the Thai driver got promoted to the Red Bull team, as he replace Pierre Gasly halfway through the season. This dynamic would stay the same through the 2020 season, as the Williams stayed at the back, the McLaren the midfield and Red Bull at the top of the field, bar the Mercedes.

All three’s paths towards the 2022 F1 season have all been contrasting, Russell’s path has always been set for that Mercedes seat it was just about waiting for his time to come. Russell now has the opportunity to prove his skill at a top team with the reigning world champions. In a similar situation to what Albon has experienced before with Red Bull where he was thrust into a car that was expected to be one of the best, with a teammate that has proven speed. Russell will be hoping to gather his first career win this season, but whether Mercedes have the car to provide that is yet to be seen.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the spectrum, Albon has directly taken Russell’s Williams seat, where we’ll see him tout his skills in the midfield again after a run in the Red Bull. It’ll be interesting to see how Albon will compare to Latifi, and the indirect comparison to Russell through that as the Canadian and Brit spent two years as teammates in 2020 and 2021. Albon has a lot to prove after missing out on an F1 seat last year. Similar to Russell, Albon is still chasing his first win although that’s a much more significant fact due to the time Albon spent at RBR.

Norris has managed to stay with his original F1 team unlike the other two, where he has remained at McLaren since the beginning. While he’s managed to secure podiums, that maiden win still eludes him. In a way, he’s in a very similar situation to Russell, where Norris has proven to be quick on multiple occasions yet hasn’t quite had the machinery to secure the top step of the podium. It’s still unclear about the true pace of the McLaren but if it’s at the top end of the field. The young Brit will be looking to get that victory.

Overall, the rookie class’ dynamic has changed significantly to the three rookies we saw in Australia in 2019. Each has found their own individual path to success which they’ve all experienced at the top level of the sport. And each finds themselves in a similar situation where they’re chasing a maiden win.