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The Formula One silly season appears to be winding down, with the championship petering away to the reigning premiers and with only two seats left on the grid for 2019.
In a silly season that promised not a great deal, it ended up being the most surprising since 2014, which saw Fernando Alonso sensationally quit Ferrari for McLaren and Sebastian Vettel take his place at the Scuderia.
It was Daniel Ricciardo’s decision to elect for a shock move to manufacturer Renault for 2019 that really shook up the driver market this year. The follow-on was a flurry of activity in the midfield, which saw Carlos Sainz replace the outgoing Alonso at McLaren.
Ferrari also saw drastic changes, with Charles Leclerc promoted following his stellar debut season for Sauber. Surprisingly, Kimi Räikkönen, who made way for the Monegasque driver, will return to Hinwil for the next two years.
Charles Leclerc (Photo by Marco Canoniero/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Force India’s mid-season rebirth and the bailout by Lawrence Stroll and co. will see his son – Lance, currently at Williams – make the switch for 2019, which has controversially left Esteban Ocon without a drive.
The two remaining vacancies on the grid are at Williams and the Red Bull junior squad of Toro Rosso, with both having confirmed respectively; soon-to-be F2 champion George Russell and Daniil Kvyat, who will return to the team he was unceremoniously dumped by last year.
Ocon’s dire predicament could find salvation at Williams, should his backers in Mercedes-Benz push the beleaguered team to field another one of their affiliated drivers. It’d be a backwards step for the Frenchman, but it would present the opportunity for him to build team-building skills – alongside the talented rookie in Russell.
Given that Ocon finds himself aligned with the Silver Arrows, there is no chance of him ending up at Toro Rosso and given the dissatisfaction from Red Bull’s hierarchy of Brendon Hartley’s performances in his maiden season – they’re being forced to look externally once more.
If Hartley isn’t to retain his seat at Toro Rosso, the consensus is that another former Red Bull junior in Alexander Albon should be given the opportunity to make his Formula One debut.
The Anglo-Thai driver who has been rather underrated throughout his junior career, almost found himself without an F2 ride this year and now is second in the standings to Russell, with four wins.
Having signed for Nissan in Formula E for the 2018-19 season, it has been suggested that Red Bull could pay out Albon’s future employers, so he gets a crack alongside Kvyat in a Honda-powered Toro Rosso.
If this were to eventuate, then it would make for an exciting grid of rookies to look forward to in 2019, with Russell, fellow F2 graduate Lando Norris who will debut for McLaren and Antonio Giovinazzi who’ll race full-time for Sauber, already confirmed.
Add Ocon to the roster at Williams, then it would be a perfect outcome despite the losses of Stoffel Vandoorne and Pascal Wehrlein to Formula E.
So with the championship possibly set to be wrapped up by Lewis Hamilton this weekend in Austin, it’s all eyes on 2019 now and the new-look, talent-bursting grid that’s set to race for the first time in Formula One.
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