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The 2023 Formula 1 season is finally over, having concluded with a day of combined young driver and tyre testing at Abu Dhabi. But do any of the 'rookies' in action on Tuesday actually have prospects of making it big time?
That's the question asked on The Race F1 Podcast, as Scott Mitchell-Malm and Glenn Freeman join Edd Straw to comb through the young drivers who took part at the end of what's been a very static year in F1 as far as the driver market is concerned.
Opportunities to get into an F1 car are better than they were a decade ago - that's the view of Haas driver Kevin Magnussen, anyway - but conversely making the final step now seems as hard as its ever been; with Logan Sargeant looking increasingly likely to stay on at Williams, that would mean no change in the driver market from the end of one year to the start of next.
The main factors contributing to that - including a shrinking driver pool and the cost of Formula 2, plus the 'bespoke discipline' that F1 has now become in the ground effect era - are chief among this week's talking points.
As well as assessing some of the young drivers who took part, there's also a wider look at the final test day of 2023 - one topped by Alpine's Esteban Ocon that also featured the strangest red flag of the season and a full day for Sergio Perez to experiment in the Red Bull.
The Race F1 Podcast is available free to subscribe to from all good podcast suppliers, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
