Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1082991
31 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 17 FEBRUARY 2019 SPORTS FORMULA 1 Alfa Romeo - Kimi Raikkonen (7), Antonio Giovinazzi (99) Taking over from Sauber, the Alfa Romeo name returns to Formula 1 for the first time since 1985. All of Alfa Romeo's 10 wins came in the first two years of the Formula 1 championship - 1950 and 1951 - with Giuseppe Fa- rina becoming the world champion in 1950 and Juan Manuel Fangio a year later. For 2019 they have the most expe- rienced driver in F1 in the form of 39-year-old Kimi Raikkonen, part- nered by 25-year-old Italian Antonio Giovinazzi, who starts the season with only two grands prix to his name as he replaces Marcus Ericsson. Ferrari - Sebastian Vettel (5), Charles Leclerc (16) The 2018 season promised so much for Ferrari, but in the end Sebastian Vettel finished 88 points behind world champion Lewis Hamilton with the team 84 points adrift of Mercedes in the Constructors' Championship. They have a new pairing for 2019 as 21-year-old Charles Leclerc swaps seats with Raikkonen, who is now at Alfa Romeo, to partner four-time world champion Vettel. Haas - Romain Grosjean (8), Kevin Magnussen (20) It is the same again for American team Haas as Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen keep their places for 2019. Magnussen got the bragging rights in 2018 as he came ninth in the championship, with Grosjean 14th. McLaren - Carlos Sainz (55), Lando Norris (4) A frustrating year for McLaren in 2018 saw Fernando Alonso retire from F1 as his car was not competi- tive enough. He is replaced by com- patriot Carlos Sainz, who moves from Renault, with the Spaniard joined at the team by 19-year-old Briton Lando Norris, the runner-up in the 2018 For- mula 2 Championship. Mercedes - Lewis Hamilton (44), Valtteri Bottas (77) Once again Mercedes were supreme in 2018 with Lewis Hamilton winning the world title again and the team be- coming the constructors champions for the fifth successive season. But question marks remain over his team-mate Valtteri Bottas, who faced team orders in Russia and was told to give the race lead to Hamilton, before the Finn had a disappointing end to the campaign, coming only fifth in each of the final four races of 2018. Racing Point - Sergio Perez (11), Lance Stroll (18) Racing Point is the new name for the team formerly known as Force India, who were bought out by a consortium led by Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll. Despite the off-track turmoil, Force India still did remarkably well in 2018, ending seventh in the standings, de- spite having the 59 points in the Con- structors' Championship they earned in the opening 12 races of the season wiped from the records after going into administration. They would have come fifth overall if they had been able to keep all their pre-adminis- tration points. Lawrence's son Lance moves over from Williams to join Ser- gio Perez at the team. Red Bull - Max Verstappen (33), Pierre Gasly (10) A season of what might have been for Red Bull in 2018. The pairing of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciar- do won four races between them, but at least one of their cars (sometimes both) failed to finish in 10 of the 21 races, with Ricciardo not finishing eight times. The Australian has now gone to Re- nault with Pierre Gasly getting a pro- motion from Toro Rosso to join Ver- stappen. Renault - Daniel Ricciardo (3), Nico Hulkenberg (27) There is a new face at Renault this year as Daniel Ricciardo - having tired of reliability issues at Red Bull and al- so playing second fiddle to Max Ver- stappen - moves to the French team to join up with Nico Hulkenberg. Toro Rosso - Daniil Kvyat (26), Alexander Albon (23) A surprise pairing for 2019 as Rus- sian Daniil Kvyat, who dropped out of Formula 1 during the 2017 season, is back in the sport and partnered by 22-year-old newcomer Alexander Al- bon, the London-born and Suffolk- educated Thai who finished third in the Formula 2 Championship in 2018. Williams - George Russell (63), Robert Kubica (88) Last season was a disaster for Wil- liams as they finished bottom of the constructors' championship after picking up only seven points, with their drivers finishing in the top 10 in just two of the 21 races. This year they have a completely new line-up. Robert Kubica is back racing in F1 after a nine-year absence and is joined by Formula 2 champion George Russell, a 20-year-old Englishman. Formula 1 2019: All you need to know about the teams Toro Rosso: Daniil Kvyat and Alexander Albon both have points to prove in 2019 Charles Leclerc has the daunting task of trying to keep up with Sebastian Vettel this season Romain Grosjean (left) and Kevin Magnussen took Haas to fifth place in the Constructors' Championship in 2018