‘Silly season’ is a common term in F1 referring to the time of year in which many teams announce their driver line-up for the following season.
It usually takes place during the summer as that’s when the market is at its most frantic, with driver changes causing doubt over the futures of others.
But, silly season started a lot earlier this year due to Lewis Hamilton announcing his move to Ferrari for 2025 back in February 2024.
So the driver market is arguably the craziest it has ever been, especially when many other driver contracts were due, or are due, to expire at the end of this season.
With Red Bull finally firming up the line-ups for its two teams in mid-December, here's a look at the full 2025 F1 grid:
2025 F1 grid
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F1 team
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Drivers
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Contract deadline
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|---|---|---|
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Multi-year contract
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| Jack Doohan | Contracted until the end of 2025 | |
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Aston Martin
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Contracted until the end of 2026
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|
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Contracted until 2025 and beyond
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||
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Multi-year contract
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||
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Multi-year contract
|
||
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Haas
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Oliver Bearman | Multi-year contract |
| Esteban Ocon | Multi-year contract | |
|
Contracted beyond the end of 2026
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||
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Contracted until at least the end of 2026
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||
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Contracted until the end of 2025
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| Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Contracted until the end of 2025 | |
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Contracted until the end of 2025
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Isack Hadjar
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Contracted until the end of 2025
|
|
|
Red Bull
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Contracted until the end of 2028
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|
| Liam Lawson |
Contracted until the end of 2025
|
|
|
Multi-year contract
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| Gabriel Bortoleto | Multi-year contract | |
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Multi-year contract
|
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| Carlos Sainz | Multi-year contract |
Alpine 2025 F1 Drivers
• Pierre Gasly - multi-year contract
• Jack Doohan - contracted until the end of 2025
Alpine endured a difficult start to 2024 as it failed to score any points in the opening five rounds. Although its form then picked up slightly - double points finishes in Canada and Spain for example - Alpine is still currently one of the four worst teams on the grid, highlighting regression for the Enstone squad as it has not finished lower than sixth in the championship since 2016.
Despite that, Pierre Gasly was delighted to sign a multi-year contract extension with the team he joined in 2023, as its willingness to offer a long-term deal was understood to be a key factor.
Another factor that’s believed to have influenced his decision is the impending departure of team-mate Esteban Ocon - his childhood rival with whom he shares a fractious relationship. This came to a head at the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix, when Ocon made a risky move down the inside of Portier on the opening lap, which caused the two Frenchmen to collide.
It angered team management and just eight days later, Alpine announced that Ocon will depart the squad at the end of 2024. Although it is understood that the decision was not based entirely on the Monaco incident, it did play some part.
So, this left an open spot alongside Gasly, and Autosport exclusively revealed that Alpine made a bid for Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz, but he will instead join Williams.
As a result, the French team elected to promote youngster Jack Doohan, who has been its reserve driver since 2023. The Australian, who is the son of five-time 500cc motorcycling world champion Mick Doohan, joined the Alpine set-up for 2022 after just finishing second in the F3 standings while last year he came third in F2.
Aston Martin 2025 F1 Drivers
• Fernando Alonso - contracted until the end of 2026
• Lance Stroll - contracted until 2025 and beyond
Aston Martin is just one of three teams so far to have announced an unchanged driver line-up for 2025, with that figure expected to go no higher than four constructors. The Silverstone-based squad first confirmed the future of two-time F1 world champion Fernando Alonso, who impressed during his debut season at the team with eight podiums in 2023.
Six of those podiums came in the opening eight rounds though, and Aston Martin has since failed to replicate such form with the fifth-place team now a cut adrift from the top four. This is a long-term project though, one which Alonso is invested in so the 42-year-old signed a two-year extension in April.
Aston Martin then announced in June that Lance Stroll will stay on for 2025, though that was expected given his father Lawrence owns the team. It will be Stroll’s seventh season racing for the squad and his contract length has never been formally disclosed, but that seat is basically his for as long as he and his father want to continue their F1 dream.
Ferrari 2025 F1 Drivers
• Charles Leclerc - multi-year contract
• Lewis Hamilton - multi-year contract
Ferrari caused a stir when it confirmed the shock news that Hamilton will join the team in 2025. The seven-time world champion has a long history of being linked to Ferrari, but it initially seemed like that would only ever be rumours - especially when Hamilton signed a two-year extension with Mercedes during the 2023 season.
The second year of that deal though was understood to only be an option, which has allowed Hamilton to make the switch just one season into his contract. It means his stint at Mercedes will end after 12 campaigns as Hamilton, whose last championship victory came in 2020, cited the need for a new challenge.
That will come alongside Charles Leclerc, who signed a multi-year contract extension in January with the team he joined in 2019. During that time, Leclerc has won seven grands prix and has been Ferrari’s leading driver, but it will be interesting to see how the dynamic changes when Hamilton arrives.
Regardless, the goal is clear: to end Red Bull’s dominance and deliver Ferrari, who finished third in the 2023 constructors’ standings, its first championship-winning season since 2008. With a regulation overhaul coming in 2026, that may present Ferrari its biggest opportunity to do so.
Haas 2025 F1 Drivers
• Oliver Bearman - multi-year contract
• Esteban Ocon - multi-year contract
Haas, who finished bottom of the 2023 standings, will have an all-new driver line-up in 2025 as Nico Hulkenberg first signed with Sauber for next year.
It was then announced, on Thursday 4 July, that Oliver Bearman will race for Haas in 2025 after impressing in F2 with four victories during his rookie campaign last season.
Bearman's promotion was expected though, as the Ferrari junior has so far competed in six FP1 sessions for Haas, due to its close ties with the Scuderia and the team was left impressed by the 19-year-old. He also performed well on his grand prix debut, as Bearman competed for Ferrari at the 2024 Saudi Arabian GP due to Sainz having appendicitis, and he finished a solid seventh after thwarting late charges from Hamilton and Lando Norris.
Haas then confirmed, two weeks after Bearman's announcement, that Kevin Magnussen will depart at the end of this season after struggling to match the form of Hulkenberg.
Magnussen's replacement will be Ocon, who will become the first grand prix winner to ever drive for Haas after signing a multi-year contract with the team.
McLaren 2025 F1 Drivers
• Lando Norris - contracted beyond the end of 2026
• Oscar Piastri - contracted until at least the end of 2026
McLaren’s level of improvement since the beginning of last year has been remarkable, as it was sixth after eight rounds in 2023 before mid-season upgrades helped it to finish fourth with nine podiums and a sprint race victory in Qatar.
The British outfit carried that form into 2024, eventually winning its first constructors' title since 1998. Both drivers contributed to McLaren’s form so will remain as team-mates for a third consecutive season in 2025.
Oscar Piastri was the first to commit his future to McLaren, as the 23-year-old signed an extension towards the end of his impressive rookie season with his deal running until at least 2026.
There was a lot more chatter over Norris’ future though, whose previous contract lasted until the end of 2025. Many wondered if McLaren could actually help Norris in challenging for the drivers’ championship, but the Briton has full faith as he signed an extension which lasts beyond 2026.
Mercedes 2025 F1 Drivers
• George Russell - contracted until the end of 2025
• Andrea Kimi Antonelli - contracted until the end of 2025
August 2023 saw Mercedes announce that Hamilton and George Russell had both signed contract extensions which run until the end of 2025. Next season will be Russell’s fourth at Mercedes - the manufacturer he first joined as a junior driver in 2017 and clinched his maiden grand prix victory with.
His team-mate next year will be rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who had been touted for the seat ever since Hamilton's move was announced. The 18-year-old became a Mercedes junior in 2019 and he is regarded as one of the biggest talents in motorsport having already won four single-seater championships.
But, he endured a very up-and-down F2 campaign as a rookie and ended up sixth in the championship despite taking victories at Silverstone and the Hungaroring. In Monza, Antonelli also drove for Mercedes in FP1 but he had a 45G crash at Parabolica after just 10 minutes.
So, it caused questions over the youngster's readiness to compete for a front-running team, but Mercedes confirmed Antonelli as its driver for 2025 only a day after the Italian's crash.
RB 2025 F1 Drivers
• Yuki Tsunoda - contracted until the end of 2025
• Isack Hadjar - contracted until the end of 2025
Yuki Tsunoda will remain at the Faenza-based squad for a fifth consecutive season after signing a contract extension into 2025 with RB. This followed an impressive start to 2024, as the long-term Red Bull and Honda protege consistently beat team-mate Daniel Ricciardo and scored over half of the team’s points tally.
That led to hope amongst some that Tsunoda would finally receive a promotion to Red Bull for next season, but Red Bull eventually chose Liam Lawson - who joined him at RB from the Austin weekend - when a space became available at its flagship team.
Lawson's move created a vacancy at the team that will be known as Racing Bulls next season, with the energy drinks giant choosing to hand the seat to F2 runner-up Isack Hadjar. The Frenchman fought for the championship all season with Campos, winning races at Albert Park, Imola, Silverstone and Spa, but eventually lost the crown to 2025 Sauber F1 signing Gabriel Bortoleto.
Red Bull 2025 F1 Drivers
• Max Verstappen - contracted until the end of 2028
• Liam Lawson - contracted until the end of 2025
Red Bull was set to retain its driver line-up for 2025 with Perez having signed a two-year deal to partner Verstappen. The two had enjoyed a very successful period together, but Perez's slump in performance this year contributed to Red Bull missing the constructors' title in 2025. That prompted a meeting between the two parties after the Abu Dhabi finale, and it was eventually announced that the Mexican will not be staying at the team in 2025.
Perez's place will be taken over by Liam Lawson, who impressed in his limited time at RB towards the end of the season, but doesn't quite have the same experience as Yuki Tsunoda.
There was also some doubt over Verstappen’s future despite him being contracted until the end of 2028. That doubt emerged during Red Bull’s early 2024 management war - which followed an investigation into Horner’s behaviour towards a female employee - and how Verstappen strongly backed motorsport adviser Helmut Marko, whose future at the time was unclear. However, Verstappen has since publicly said he is committed to the team until the end of his contract.
Sauber 2025 F1 Drivers
• Nico Hulkenberg - multi-year contract
• Gabriel Bortoleto - multi-year contract
Sauber is currently working through major changes, as it is set to become the Audi F1 team from 2026. One of the first things it did in preparation was sign Hulkenberg on a multi-year contract after a string of impressive performances at Haas, in which he has been its leading driver. Sauber was keen to partner Hulkenberg with Sainz in 2025, but that is no longer an option.
So, F2 championship leader Gabriel Bortoleto was signed on a multi-year contract after a stellar rookie campaign for the 20-year-old, who clinched the F3 crown in 2023. This means Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu are without a seat for next year having both joined the team in 2022.
Williams 2025 F1 Drivers
• Alex Albon - multi-year contract
• Carlos Sainz - multi-year contract
Williams team boss James Vowles publicly stated in June that Sainz was its number one target and the squad finally got its man. Early on, the likelihood of Sainz joining Williams was strong but Alpine’s late bid cast doubt over that.
Alpine's offer was not enough though, and on Monday 29 July Williams announced that Sainz will join for "2025, 2026 and beyond".
Sainz will partner fellow Red Bull junior graduate Alex Albon, who signed a multi-year extension in May as his previous contract was due to expire at the end of 2025. That was also a major coup for Williams, as Albon has impressed since joining in 2022 which made him a left-field player in next year's driver market - but the 28-year-old spoke of his faith in the team’s long-term project, so signed the deal.
Sainz was signed as Logan Sargeant's replacement, because the American consistently struggled since joining F1 in 2023. He scored just one point in his rookie campaign, while zero points in the opening 15 grands prix of 2024 led to Williams dropping him for Colapinto for the remainder of the year.
