The Formula One ‘silly season’ is set to go into overdrive as it does without fail annually in the second half of the season.
To give you all a perspective of what could come to fruition within the next six to twelve months, here is a look at all the current drivers and where they lie in terms of contracts for the future. Also included are some speculations of where certain drivers could end up.
Mercedes AMG
Nico Rosberg – Having signed a new multi-year deal with his incumbent team prior to the German Grand Prix, Rosberg’s foreseeable future remains secure.
Lewis Hamilton – Hamilton is currently on a three year deal with the Mercedes AMG team, a deal which expires at the end of next year. There are many factors that will contribute to whether Hamilton will stay at the Silver Arrows beyond 2015, one definitely being if he wins a world championship or not. Losing the championship to his teammate could spark the 2008 world champion to return to the driver market, in similar fashion to what he did in 2012 with McLaren.
Red Bull Racing
Daniel Ricciardo – The young West-Aussie has certainly turned heads this year so far and has impressed his superiors greatly. It’d be guaranteed that Ricciardo will remain with the energy drink giants for the next few seasons, with the potential to emulate his teammate Sebastian Vettel’s success in that time, providing the car is consistently competitive.
Sebastian Vettel – After winning the world championship four years back-to-back, the prodigal son of Red Bull has not come to grips with the new technology of 2014. Having been out-raced by his teammate 6-1, Vettel could be on the lookout for a change of scenery once his contract ends at the end of 2015. The German has expressed his interest in one day driving with Ferrari many times, as well as the current powerhouse team of Mercedes AMG; there are options available for Vettel to continue on in Formula One.
Ferrari
Fernando Alonso – For the last few years, Alonso’s name has been synonymous with the ‘silly season’. There are always reports of growing rifts between the two-time world champion and Ferrari’s president Luca di Montezemolo, but then there is also times where the President sings nothing but praise for the Spaniard. Alonso is currently contracted with the Scuderia until the end of 2016, but there is speculation that it may not run its full course. McLaren as they did last year express interest in Alonso who fractiously drove for them in 2007 before returning to Renault. He is widely regarded as the best driver on the grid at the moment; therefore he’d be a great asset to any team.
Kimi Räikkönen – The Iceman returned to Ferrari at the start of this year on a two year deal, with the 2007 world champion already having claimed that he is bound for retirement after this Ferrari stint is over. Räikkönen’s performance this season has been fairly lacklustre with him struggling to get to grips with the new formula. There has been speculation that the team may send the Kimster packing again at the end of this year and promote Marussia’s Jules Bianchi to his seat. However Räikkönen remains confident that he will see out 2015 with Ferrari and that they will assist him in ironing out the issues he’s had with the F14 T so far.
Williams
Valtteri Bottas – While in his debut year we didn’t really see a lot of what young Bottas had to offer, in 2014 he has shown why Sir Frank Williams hold him in such high regard. The Finn’s performances in 2014 would have gained him some new admirers in the form of other teams looking to poach him, however being a long time protégé of the Williams team; it’s likely that he would remain with them for the next couple of years.
Felipe Massa – After being dumped by Ferrari, Massa came to the resurgent Williams team on a multi-year deal, which seemingly eliminates any chance of him being shown the door by the team any time soon. The sole pole position in Austria showed yet that that Massa might have a bit of his old self in him, but it has been a far cry from what his teammate has achieved thus far.
Force India
Nico Hulkenberg – One of the most highly rated drivers on the grid returned to Force India after a one-year stint at Sauber. Hulkenberg faces the prospect of remaining at Force India for a couple of years unless a bigger team calls forth ‘The Hulk’. But with team boss Dr Vijay Mallya singing praise for both his drivers, it appears that he is to stay.
Sergio Perez – Being shown the door by McLaren after just one season could have been a blessing in disguise for Perez, who claimed his fourth career podium at the Bahrain Grand Prix earlier this year. Like Hulkenberg, Perez’s future looks stable at Force India unless of course a bigger team is willing to give him another go. With his wealthy Mexican sponsors behind him, Perez is certainty to remain at the team.
McLaren
Jenson Button – The 2009 world champion’s position at McLaren has come under threat this year, with team boss Ron Dennis laying an ultimatum down to the veteran: ‘try harder’ or go home. With Honda set to return to the sport next year as an exclusive power-unit supplier to McLaren, having a solid driver line up will be important. Racing Director Eric Boullier has emphasised that he’d like to keep Button on for next year, however with names like Vettel, Alonso, Hamilton and even Bottas in the frame, Button will need to deliver results that are enough to impress Dennis enough to keep him.
Kevin Magnussen – The young Dane’s fate with McLaren in the future remains in the balance too, similarly to Button’s. Despite an impressive outing in Melbourne, Magnussen has only out-raced his teammate twice out of the eleven races that have been run. As with Button, more good performances in his superiors’ eyes could earn him a spot with the team next year, otherwise there are several contenders that could inherit his seat.
Toro Rosso
Jean-Eric Vergne – Well it was announced on Tuesday that Dutch teenager Max Verstappen will be taking Vergne’s seat as Toro Rosso, throwing the Frenchman’s future in the sport into doubt. After three seasons at Toro Rosso where he’s been overshadowed by Ricciardo who is now at Red Bull, the prospects of seeing Vergne at the first race in Melbourne next year looks grim.
Daniil Kvyat – The Russian youngster has been confirmed as part of the announcement for Verstappen, to be driving for Toro Rosso next year. This means that Toro Rosso at the moment has the youngest ever driver line up for 2015 with Kvyat still at 20 years-old and Verstappen turning 17 before his debut.
Lotus
Romain Grosjean – In the latter part of 2013, Grosjean went from being called a ‘first lap nutcase’ by former driver Mark Webber to gaining his admiration. 2014 however hasn’t been as rosy for the Frenchman and there has been speculation that he could end up on the market, as his contract with Lotus expires at the end of this year. It’s difficult to see where Grosjean would go; there are always options further back on the grid but in terms of going forward there is very little room.
Pastor Maldonado – Despite not having scored any points this year unlike his teammate, Maldonado has already earned a contract extension from Lotus for 2015. The heavy financial backing from Venezuelan oil company PDVSA certainly played a hand in Maldonado’s hiring in the first place and with Lotus desperate to reverse their fortunes from this year, they will need the money.
Marussia
Jules Bianchi – Despite heavy speculations of a potential call up from Ferrari, Bianchi may yet have to spend another season with Marussia if Räikkönen is retained by the Scuderia for 2015. Scoring the two points at the Monaco Grand Prix earlier this year will prove greatly beneficial for Marussia financially, securing more funds to continue progressing in the sport, which could be good for Bianchi if he stays in 2015.
Max Chilton – The pairing of Chilton and Bianchi has been great for the team since they both debuted in 2013. The team have moved visibly forward in comparison to their rivals Caterham and now are even threatening a lacklustre Sauber at every race. Chilton along with Bianchi is an asset to Marussia and an asset that should stay on in 2015.
Sauber
Both Adrian Sutil and Esteban Gutierrez have expressed their interests to stay with Sauber beyond this year, despite the struggles they’ve endured this year so far. Gutierrez looks an almost definite pick for the financially toiling team, with his sponsorship support from Mexico. A Mexican Grand Prix also next year would be good for Sauber to promote themselves in the country with their Mexican driver.
Caterham
Since the team was sold over to a consortium of Middle-Eastern and Swiss investors, the futures of Kamui Kobayashi and Marcus Ericsson have been in doubt. Both have failed to impress in comparison to what has transpired at Marussia this year and there was rumours that the team could bring in new drivers as early as the Belgian Grand Prix. Red Bull junior driver Carlos Sainz Jr has been one to be linked with a Caterham drive and GP2 series leader Jolyon Palmer has said that he’s been in discussion with ‘a few’ teams and here’s guessing that he could end up at Caterham.
Hopefully this has shed some light on what we can expect in the ‘silly season’ for 2014.
Where would you like to see some of the drivers next year or later on down the track? Alternatively, is there anyone on the grid who shouldn’t be there or anyone who isn’t on the grid should be there?
Looking for great odds on racing and sport? Get into the action with PlayUp today. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
The Long Beach Grand Prix is the Monaco of American motorsport, and this past weekend, the IndyCar Series reminded everyone exactly why. We witnessed…
New Zealand made a triumphant return to the Supercars championship calendar since the demise of the much-loved Pukekohe Park Raceway – as Taupō delivered…
Ricciardo was forced to retire after the Aston Martin driver slammed into the back of his car during a safety car restart but Stroll…
It’s time that serious questions are asked of his Lance Stroll and his future in the team.
Five-years is a long time in motorsport, let alone the general state of the world – especially given the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic…
Red Bull and Max Verstappen vaulted right back to the top of the charts with a win in Suzuka, after his DNF in Melbourne.
