Where are they now? The 21 drivers from Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes debut

As Lewis Hamilton gets set for just the third team debut of his F1 career, we are casting an eye back to the last time he started with a new outfit.

Hamilton’s much anticipated move to Ferrari will get underway officially at the 2025 season opener in Australia and it was that venue that saw him complete his last debut in 2013 for the Silver Arrows.

Where are the other 21 drivers of Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes debut?

Despite having raced in F1 for 18 seasons, so far Hamilton has only ever driven for two teams in McLaren and Mercedes but that number is set to increase in just a few weeks’ time.

In the build-up to Hamilton’s move to Maranello, we are looking back at his last debut in the sport and focusing on the 2013 Australian Grand Prix.

Having made a shock move from McLaren to Brackley, the 28-year-old was one of 22 drivers on the grid in Melbourne. Here’s what happened to the other 21:

Nico Hulkenberg

The first name on this list is that one that will be familiar for all present F1 fans but back at the start of 2013, you could be forgiven for forgetting about Nico Hulkenberg.

His season got off to the worst possible start when the German failed to even begin the race as a fuel system issue in his Sauber handed him the first of three DNSs of his career.

He finished that year 10th in the standings and was with Force India until 2017 when he made the switch over to Renault.

Partnered with Daniel Ricciardo, Hulkenberg lost his seat in 2020 but made a stunning comeback with Haas in 2023. The German’s stock rose so high that he was offered the chance to become Audi’s first F1 driver and an interim season with Stake in 2025 means Hulkenberg too will have a new car to get used to this year.

Pastor Maldonado

Pastor Maldonado’s time as an F1 full-time driver would come to an end in 2015 but he did help out Pirelli for 2016 and 2017 as their test driver.

In 2018, he competed in Le Mans, finishing fifth, and his maiden WEC season saw him finish third in the standings. He then competed in sportscar racing in 2019 as well as a return to Le Mans but could only manage a DNF.

He may not have raced since 2015, but Maldonado told F1 in 2023 he always thinks about a comeback.

“I tell you – I’m missing it every day!” he said. “I used to travel every day, go to PR events, media events, sponsor events, training, testing, go-karting, racing, and I’m missing this active life. I still have a super active life and all my friends say ‘oh my God, how can you behave in this way?’ And I tell them everyday, ‘this is nothing for me!’

“And maybe in a certain point in my life I would like to get back to motorsport, maybe, in a different role, because this is my passion. Maybe I’d like to manage a team, with the whole experience and the network I have, and to have the same adrenalin and same good feeling of competition in my sport, because it is my sport. And it will be my sport until the last day of my life.”

Nico Rosberg

Hamilton’s team-mate on that day was one he had known for a very long time with childhood friend Nico Rosberg on the other side of the Mercedes garage.

Rosberg’s subsequent career is not one that needs much explaining as he and Hamilton battled for the title all the way until 2016 when the German finally bested the Briton and subsequently retired at the age of 31.

He has not disappeared from the sport entirely though and is a frequent pundit for Sky Sports.

Away from F1, Rosberg is an entrepreneur and has invested in plenty of businesses focused on the environment and society. The now 39-year-old has also taken an interest in Formula E and owned Rosberg X Racing up until 2024 when it was announced the series would become Extreme H in 2025.

Rosberg is also a YouTuber, previously doing popular circuit guides as well as documenting his Monaco-based life.

Daniel Ricciardo

Another name familiar with F1 fans is that of Daniel Ricciardo who looks set to have left the sport for good.

Back in 2013, he was forced to retire from his home race but finished his final season with Toro Rosso in 14th.

He was promoted to Red Bull in 2014 to partner Sebastian Vettel and achieved third in the standings, a feat he repeated in 2016.

But in 2019, he left for Renault in what many considered the sliding doors moment of his career and had he stayed to fight for his place against Max Verstappen, the subsequent years may have played out a lot differently.

An often underrated time at Renault saw him achieve the team’s first podium in nine years but Ricciardo’s career was derailed when he moved to McLaren.

Dumped in favour of fellow Aussie Oscar Piastri, Ricciardo was given a second chance at VCARB but failed to take it and was dropped again for Liam Lawson in 2024.

Now he is enjoying some time away from the sport and has already said he does not expect a second comeback.

Giedo van der Garde

2013 was the one and only F1 season in Dutchman Giedo van der Garde’s season as he finished 22nd with Caterham.

The following year he was test driver but computing in Le Mans for G-Drive Racing in 2016.

His motorsport career after that was focused on endurance racing and primarily for Racing Team Nederland who he was with from 2018 to 2022.

In 2023, he switched to a mix of United Autosports, TDS Racing and Graff Racing and has appeared frequently as an F1 pundit for Viaplay in his native Netherlands.

Max Chilton

After his time in F1 came to an end in 2014, Briton Max Chilton headed stateside to compete in IndyCar.

An opening season with Carlin in Indy Lights ended with P5 in the championship which earned him a move to Chip Ganassi for the 2016 IndyCar season. Two seasons with them and it was back to Carlin for 2018 to 2021 but he failed to ever reach the podium.

Away from racing, he set a Goodwood record when he drove the McMurtry Automotive Speirling fan car in 2022, taking just 41.6 seconds to make the famous hill climb.

Chilton also has an expanding business portfolio and recently welcomed his first child with artist wife Chloe.

Charles Pic

Another driver for which 2013 was their last season in full-time F1 racing was Charles Pic who finished the year 20th with Caterham.

A period spent as test driver for Lotus preceded a move to Formula E in the 2014-15 season but he completed just five races for Andretti and China Racing.

In 2022, he bought French team Driot Associés Motor Sport who compete in F2 and F3.

Jules Bianchi

As with any grid of this era, there is a tragic reminder of the danger of motorsport in the form of Jules Bianchi.

A promising young talent, Bianchi crashed his Marussia in wet conditions at Suzuka and collided with a recovery vehicle. He suffered a diffuse axonal injury (a severe traumatic brain injury that occurs when the brain shifts rapidly inside the skull) and despite initially surviving the crash, he was placed in a coma and succumbed to his injuries nine months later.

The first Formula 1 driver death since Ayrton Senna, Bianchi remains the most recent fatality and his untimely passing brought in a new wave of safety protocols that have kept his colleagues alive.

Valtteri Bottas

As Hamilton walks out the Mercedes door, a familiar face has returned in the form of Valtteri Bottas.

The Silver Arrows driver from 2017 to 2021 is back but this time in a reserve role as he failed to land a full-time seat following his departure from Sauber.

After his time in Brackley, Bottas joined the Swiss team but would later describe it as a mistake as their competitiveness fell through the floor following Fred Vasseur’s departure to Ferrari.

A rebrand to crypto betting firm Stake saw them finish dead last in 2024 and Audi may well take over in 2026 but Bottas won’t be there to enjoy it.

Away from the track, Bottas has flourished and has become a cycling lover as well as frequent visitor to Australia, the birthplace of his partner and professional cyclist Tiffany Cromwell.

Esteban Gutiérrez

The 2013 season saw Mexican Esteban Gutiérrez finish 16th in the championship with Sauber, earning him an extra year but a 20th place finish in 2014 saw him leave the team and move to Ferrari as test driver.

He would be given another chance with new team Haas in 2016 but 21st for them meant his time as full-time driver came to a definitive end.

Gutiérrez continued to race in Formula E and IndyCar before returning to F1 as Mercedes’ development driver.

He stayed with the Brackley squad up to 2022 and is still a brand ambassador for the Silver Arrows.

Jean-?ric Vergne

34-year-old Jean-?ric Vergne is still competing today having left F1 in 2014 to move over to Formula E.

His debut season with Andretti saw him finish seventh but in 2018 he clinched the title with Techeetah, a feat he achieved again the following season.

A third-place finish in the 2019-20 season followed and the Frenchman continues to race in the series as well as WEC.

In 2025, he will race in Formula E for Penske.

Sergio Pérez

A driver who has very much been in the headlines of late is Sergio Perez who back in 2013 was racing for McLaren.

It proved to be his final year in Woking before he moved over to Force India and Perez stayed with the Silverstone team through its various iterations all the way to 2020.

But, with a rebrand to Aston Martin coming and Sebastian Vettel inbound, Perez looked like he was on his way out of the sport until Christian Horner picked up the phone and offered the Mexican the Red Bull seat.

A great first year proved to be the peak of Perez’s time at Red Bull and despite P3 and P2 finishes in the 2022 and 2023 championships, P8 in 2024 ultimately proved too much and he was dropped for Liam Lawson.

Since his departure, the 34-year-old has been quiet about his future plans but he has time on his side if he does seek an F1 return.

Romain Grosjean

Romain Grosjean will be forever remembered for his remarkable escape from a fiery crash in 2020 but having escaped with just burns to his hands, he has been able to carry on racing.

Leaving Haas and F1 in 2020, Grosjean moved on to IndyCar with Dale Coyne Racing and finished 15th in his rookie season.

The following year he swapped to Andretti and in 2024 he signed with Lamborghini for sportscar racing.

Jenson Button

With an F1 career that began in 2000, Jenson Button was a veteran by the 2013 season and having gone 113 grands prix without a win, the Briton made up for lost time with his fairytale 2009 championship at Brawn.

In 2010, he moved to McLaren where he stayed until his retirement in 2016, returning for a single race in 2017 as Fernando Alonso took part in the Indy 500.

Button kept racing though in series like WEC, DTM and the NASCAR Cup and even in 2024, he completed eight WEC races with Hertz Team Jota.

He has not left the F1 scene entirely either and regularly features as a pundit for Sky Sports.

Paul di Resta

Paul di Resta experienced his last year as a full-time F1 driver in 2013 but that was not an end to his motorsport career by any means.

The Scotsman went on to race in a number of series and spent most of his time in DTM, WEC and IMSA.

He featured as a pundit for Sky Sports between 2016 but was axed by the broadcast ahead of the 2023 season.

His final F1 appearance came in the 2017 Hungarian Grand Prix after Williams’ Felipe Massa was taken ill.

Adrian Sutil

2013 was Adrian Sutil’s comeback year having spent a season away but his time in F1 would come to a permanent end in 2014.

A year spent as reserve driver for Williams in 2015 preceded a long break from motorsport before he returned in 2022 for the Ferrari Challenge Europe, racing for Gohm Motorsport. He did the same in 2023.

He was most recently in the news for crashing a rare McLaren Senna LM in France.

Mark Webber

One of two Australians on the grid that day, Mark Webber raced in F1 for the final time in 2013 after a career that saw him win nine times and record 42 podiums as well play a big role in Red Bull’s Constructors’ triumphs.

After F1, he joined Porsche in endurance racing before retiring from racing in 2016.

He is still heavily involved in F1 through his management company AM Sports Management and is Oscar Piastri’s manager, playing a key role in taking the young Aussie from Alpine to McLaren.

Felipe Massa

2013 was the final year of a eight-year run for Felipe Massa at Ferrari and in 2014, the Brazilian moved over to Williams.

It would be at Grove where he ended his Formula 1 career before taking part in stock car racing and Formula E amongst other racing ventures.

He returned to the F1 headlines in March 2023 after former F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone said the sport knew about Crashgate during the 2008 season, a claim they had previously denied.

As a result, Massa launched legal action, claiming the Singapore race should have been cancelled and therefore he, not Hamilton, would have been named champion. In August, Massa and his legal team sent a Letter Before Claim to the FIA and FOM and the case is ongoing.

Sebastian Vettel

The man Hamilton described as his one actual friend in F1, 2013 saw Sebastian Vettel at the peak of his powers.

He won the championship by a record margin and became just the third driver to win four in a row.

He left Red Bull for Ferrari in 2015 and his time at Maranello was one of ups and downs but had it been any other era and he may well have earned more world titles such was the dominance of Mercedes at the time.

Sensing the Italians were favouring new prodigy Charles Leclerc, Vettel left to join Aston Martin in 2021 before retiring in 2022.

Even during his racing career, Vettel was known for being an advocate for positive causes, particularly the environment, and has continued to focus on that even after hanging up his helmet.

Despite persistent rumours he may return to F1, Vettel has so far remained on the sidelines and has only attended a handful of grands prix, preferring instead to spend time with his young family.

 

More on Formula 1 from yesteryear

Where are they now? The last time F1 had 22 drivers on the grid

Where are they now? The F1 2005 grid, 20 years on

Fernando Alonso

The one driver on this list still driving in 2025 is the ageless Fernando Alonso.

The Spaniard missed out on the title in 2013, finishing a then-record 155 points behind Vettel, and would leave Ferrari at the end of the following season.

In a typically Alonso way, it was a bad move as he joined a McLaren heading for one of the worst periods in the team’s history. A poor engine combined with an underwhelming car saw the Woking team push Alonso into retirement, such was his frustration with the sport.

After a few years away, including winning Le Mans and racing in the Indy 500, a reinvigorated Alonso returned with Alpine for the 2021 season.

He switched to Aston Martin in 2023 and secured his first podium in seven years but 2024 was underwhelming for the Silverstone team and with Adrian Newey on board, they will be looking for a comeback in 2025.

Kimi R?ikk?nen

A win in the opening race of the season was the one and only for Kimi R?ikk?nen in 2013 as he ended the season missing the final two races due to back surgery.

The following season, he left Lotus to return to Ferrari, where he won the championship in 2007, and partnered Vettel through to 2018.

In 2019, the Iceman left for Alfa Romeo and enjoyed the final good years under Fred Vasseur before retiring at the conclusion of the 2021 season.

The typically quiet Finn has not been heard from much since leaving F1 but has raced twice in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2022 and 2023.

His main focus now though is not on his driving but that of his young son Robin who has been making waves in the karting world.

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