Silly Season for 2025 is rapidly heating up, with one of the biggest transfers F1 has seen in years and half the grid looking for a new seat. So with that in mind, let's keep track of the changes in the driver market throughout the season.
Red Bull
Confirmed driver(s): Max Verstappen, Sergio Perez
Max Verstappen is still under contract with Red Bull until the end of 2028. Despite some early season rumors - which appear more like wishful thinking of people hoping to see the unbeatable Max-Red Bull combination broken - it looks like Verstappen isn’t going anywhere.
Despite a lot of speculation about the second seat at Red Bull, with Alonso and Albon openly being courted and Sainz emerging as a strong contender as well, the team ultimately chose to stick with the current line-up. Sergio Perez was confirmed for two more years with the defending champions, keeping him on for into the period of new engine regulations as well. That is, if his form increases. Because Red Bull has made it more than clear that Perez is on thin ice right now.
Ferrari
Confirmed driver(s): Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton
Ferrari got their driver pair locked in early this year. Well before the season started, they extended Charles Leclerc’s contract for “the long term”. It’s unclear how long the contract will last, but it’s generally believed that Leclerc is locked in at Ferrari until at least 2029. Then Ferrari really shook things up by announcing that Lewis Hamilton was going to join them after driving for Mercedes for more than a decade. With Hamilton and Leclerc, Ferrari will have one of the strongest line-ups in terms of pure driving skill. What it will mean for the team dynamic though, remains to be seen…
ALSO READ: Is it actually a good idea to have Hamilton at Ferrari?
Mercedes
Confirmed driver(s): George Russell, Andrea Kimi Antonelli
George Russell got an extension of his contract last year, keeping him at Mercedes until the end of 2025. That leaves him as the new team leader, considering Hamilton is departing Brackley for Maranello next year. A lot has been said about Hamilton’s possible replacement. Team principal Toto Wolff spent most of the season openly courting Max Verstappen, but that never manifested (though 2026 is always on the table...)
That left Mercedes with only one clear favorite: the golden child from the junior academy, Andrea Kimi Antonelli. After his first FP1 outing in Monza, Mercedes wasted no time in announcing him as a new permanent driver for 2025. It's easy to see why: Antonelli has won races in his first season in Formula 2 despite skipping F3. Before that, he won the title in almost every single competition he ran in.
McLaren
Confirmed driver(s): Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri
Like Ferrari, McLaren also made sure they had their drivers locked in quickly. Lando Norris still had a contract until the end of 2025, but McLaren nevertheless made sure to extend it beyond that. Like with Leclerc, it’s also unknown how long Norris’s contract now lasts, but it’s pretty much guaranteed to be at least until the end of 2027. Alongside Norris will once again be Oscar Piastri, who already got an extension until the end of 2026 after a strong showing in his rookie season last year.
Aston Martin
Confirmed driver(s): Fernando Alonso, Lance Stroll
Fernando Alonso signed a two year extension on his contract with Aston Martin in early April, keeping him with the team until the end of 2026.
Then, to the surprise of absolutely nobody, the team also confirmed that Stroll will continue driving for Aston Martin next year. It was a foregone conclusion, given that Stroll's father is still the man in charge of the entire team. Thankfully Aston did us the courtesy of not dragging it out too long.
Alpine
Confirmed driver(s): Pierre Gasly, Jack Doohan
Pierre Gasly signed a new contract with his team, keeping him at Alpine until at least the end of 2025. The Frenchman has had a decently succesful run at Alpine, though the team's drop in performance hasn't done him any favors.
Alpine figured that it would be time to split up the pairing of Gasly and Esteban Ocon. After five years, the team decided not to extend his contract despite Ocon delivering Alpine its only victory during that period. His replacement will be reserve driver Jack Doohan. Doohan's promotion marks the first time that a driver from the Alpine Academy actually goes on to drive for Alpine.
For more on Alpine's historic downfall, read our three-part series here on where it all went wrong.
Williams
Confirmed driver(s): Alex Albon, Carlos Sainz
Alex Albon has signed a new contract with Williams for the foreseeable future. It's unclear for how long exactly, but the team does state that it's a "multi-year extension which takes the partnership into the new era of Formula 1 regulations". That means at least for 2025 and 2026. Albon has shown great form at Williams, but was also being linked to Mercedes and Red Bull. It makes sense that Williams wanted to keep him on board.
And then the seal was finally broken: Carlos Sainz made a decision and went to Williams. The "cork in the bottle", as Kevin Magnussen called him, picked his future team. Sainz is joining Williams on a two-year contract with an option to extend should he wish to do so.
Racing Bulls
Confirmed driver(s): Yuki Tsunoda
While Yuki Tsunoda got a contract extension for 2025, Daniel Ricciardo is still out of contract by the end of 2024. It’s unclear what the line-up for next season will be really. With both seats at Red Bull already filled for the next two years, it leaves very little perspective for any of the Racing Bulls drivers, whoever they end up being. Liam Lawson is clearly eager to join the team in 2025, which would mean that Ricciardo has to go. However, where it once seemed pretty much guaranteed that Lawson would join the team, the Red Bull leadership is now talking about options for Lawson to go somewhere else if they can't provide him with a seat. Also waiting in the wings is Super Formula driver Ayumu Iwasa, who already tested for the team in Japan. Helmut Marko also seems hellbent on giving F2 driver Isack Hadjar the nod, though Hadjar has had a very mixed season so far in Formula 2.
Haas
Confirmed driver(s): Oliver Bearman, Esteban Ocon
Haas had to look for a new driver for next year as Nico Hulkenberg is departing for Sauber. The search didn't take long: Ferrari Junior Driver Oliver Bearman will take over from the German veteran.
Who will drive alongside him though, became clear soon as well. Kevin Magnussen is leaving too, as Haas has decided not to extend his contract after this season. He will be replaced by Esteban Ocon, who like Magnussen was let go from his team without his replacement being announced. Ocon was confirmed at Haas ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix.
By going with Ocon, Haas has clearly chosen to go with experience. It's not surprising, given the team's past encounters with an all-rookie line-up. Ocon will also be the first race winner to ever drive for Haas.
BREAKING: Nico Hulkenberg will race with Kick Sauber in 2025!
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 26, 2024
#F1 pic.twitter.com/P7vkj0rRma
Sauber
Confirmed driver(s): Nico Hulkenberg
2025 will be the last year of Sauber’s transition period before they become Audi in 2026. It’s a little unclear what that means for the drivers, but one thing is for sure: one of them has to go. Nico Hulkenberg, who as a German driver had long been linked to Audi, will drive for the team from 2025 onward. Current rumors suggest that neither Valtteri Bottas nor Guanyu Zhou will stay on to drive along him. While they aren’t bad drivers by any means, they’ve also failed to really make an impression in the past few years. Sauber rookie and reigning F2 champion Theo Pourchaire meanwhile is waiting for his chance to make it to F1 and it seems like it might be time for Sauber to take a punt on a new driver. Another name floating around is Mick Schumacher, as Audi might be eager to make it a fully German line-up.