(Renault)

HE comes from champion F1 stock and had already tested for Williams and Honda by the time he was 19.

At 22, he's just completed his first official free practice session in Formula One and was counting down the hours to his racing debut at the Australian Grand Prix.

'I'm getting used to everything. The first time I went out there was a bit of pressure but I was OK after that,' the son of three-time drivers' champion Nelson Piquet said.

The younger Piquet only completed 35 laps in two practice sessions at Albert Park yesterday after damaging his gear box in the first session.

'That was not how I imagined my first day of work would be, and we would have liked to have made more progress,' Piquet said.

'But I was able to get my first feelings for the track and I hope I can make a bigger contribution tomorrow,' in qualifying.

'I know that I have a lot to learn, but I was able to get more comfortable with each lap.' Nelsinho, as the younger Piquet is known in his native Brazil, has already said he wants to be as successful as his father, who won the world championship in 1981, 1983 and 1987.

His new team-mate, Fernando Alonso, is back with Renault after a season at McLaren. And Piquet said he couldn't have asked for a better team-mate.

'He's bringing a lot of confidence back to the team.'

(Toro Rosso)

At 28, the Frenchman won't be the sport's youngest rookie.

And he has good credentials in racing, winning four series championships in Champ Car.

In 2002, Bourdais got his first F1 test with the Arrows team and was signed on to drive for the team but the team were on the verge of bankruptcy.

In a return of sorts to F1, he's still coming to terms with the machines, which are lighter than the Champ Car open wheelers and run grooved tires instead of slicks.

'There are a lot of new things for me, for sure. A new track. A lot of things to learn,' the Toro Rosso driver said.

'It's a bit of adjusting but overall its been going well.

'I've done a lot of testing - about 7,000 km - so I feel at home.' - Wire Services.

...and the not so new

WE may forget that Lewis Hamilton is still only starting his second season in F1. Heikki Kovalainen, his new team-mate, started last season, too, and swopped seats with former world champion Fernando Alonso.

Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel started in mid-season last year, Kazuki Nakajima began his F1 career on the last race of the season with Williams following the retirement of Alexander Wurz.

Timo Glock was test driver with Jordan in 2004. In 2005, he raced in the Champ Car World Series where he was rookie of the year. He moved to GP2 in 2006 and won the series last year.