‘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 over half of the 2025 grid now confirmed, who has been announced and what does the future behold for other drivers?
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F1 team
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Drivers
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Current contract
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Multi-year contract
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TBC
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TBC
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Aston Martin
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Contracted until the end of 2026
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Contracted until 2025 and beyond
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Multi-year contract
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Multi-year contract
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Haas
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Oliver Bearman | Multi-year contract |
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TBC
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TBC
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Contracted beyond the end of 2026
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Contracted until at least the end of 2026
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Contracted until the end of 2025
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TBC
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TBC
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Contracted until the end of 2025
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TBC
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TBC
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Red Bull
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Contracted until the end of 2028
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Contracted until the end of 2026
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Multi-year contract
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TBC
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TBC
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Multi-year contract
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TBC
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TBC
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Alpine 2025 F1 Drivers
• Pierre Gasly - multi-year contract
• TBC
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 Alpine, a 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 leaves an open spot alongside Gasly, and Autosport exclusively revealed that Alpine has made a bid for Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz, who needs a new team due to Hamilton’s arrival next year. However, Sainz is wanted by several teams and the grand prix winner is keen to take his time in deciding who he wants to join.
If Sainz says ‘no’ to the French squad, then other options may include reserve driver Jack Doohan who competed in F2 last year, Alpine’s World Endurance Championship driver Mick Schumacher who was dropped by Haas at the end of 2022 or Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas.
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 a 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 six 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
• TBC
Haas, who finished bottom of the 2023 standings, became the final team to announce at least one of its drivers for 2025. On Thursday 4 July, Haas confirmed that Oliver Bearman will race for the American outfit next year 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 four 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.
Who will claim the second seat is a bit more up in the air though, due to current Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg signing with Sauber for the 2025 season. There is also a lot of doubt over Kevin Magnussen’s Haas future, as the 31-year-old has consistently failed to match Hulkenberg’s pace since the German joined in 2023.
This has resulted in Ocon emerging as a leading candidate for that Haas seat and, if it happens, he would become the first grand prix winner to ever drive for the team. Fellow grand prix winner Bottas is believed to be another candidate, as his future is unclear due to Hulkenberg’s switch amid Sauber’s preparations for an Audi takeover in 2026.
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 has carried that form into 2024 with a victory in the Miami GP amid a run of seven consecutive podiums, which leaves McLaren as arguably Red Bull’s biggest threat. Both drivers have 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
• TBC
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 team he joined as a junior in 2017 and clinched his maiden grand prix victory with.
There is a constant discussion over who his next team-mate will be though, given Hamilton’s shock decision to leave. The leading candidate is 17-year-old Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who is regarded as one of the biggest talents in motorsport having already won four single-seater championships.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has also spoken publicly about how much the team believes in its junior driver, but there are still question marks over Antonelli’s readiness to compete at the front given his tender age.
Max Verstappen was another driver to have been linked with the seat, but in the build-up to June’s Austrian GP he confirmed he will remain at Red Bull next season. Regardless, Wolff wants to take his time to decide as Mercedes is more focussed on improving its car, which has won just two grands prix since the Silver Arrows claimed an eighth consecutive constructors’ title in 2021.
RB 2025 F1 Drivers
• Yuki Tsunoda - contracted until the end of 2025
• TBC
Yuki Tsunoda is set to 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 Sergio Perez signing an extension in June despite a run of disappointing results shut that door.
It’s not yet known who will partner Tsunoda in 2025 though, as there is much doubt over Ricciardo’s future given his poor form. That doubt then increased when motorsport advisor Helmut Marko reiterated that RB is a junior team and Ricciardo is anything but an F1 junior given he is 35-years-old.
So, if Ricciardo is not re-signed then the seat will likely go to current reserve driver Liam Lawson, who drove five grands prix for the team in 2023 - then known as AlphaTauri - due to the eight-time grand prix winner breaking his hand at Zandvoort.
Lawson impressed during that run with a points finish in Singapore, leading to Red Bull boss Christian Horner claiming that the New Zealander will be a full-time grand prix driver one day. While that opportunity has not yet come in 2024, there is a strong possibility of it happening in 2025.
Red Bull 2025 F1 Drivers
• Max Verstappen - contracted until the end of 2028
• Sergio Perez - contracted until the end of 2026
Red Bull is another outfit who will retain its driver line-up for 2025 with Verstappen and Perez set for their fifth season as team-mates. The two have enjoyed a very successful period together, as Verstappen looks likely to claim his fourth straight drivers’ title in 2024 while Red Bull is going for its third consecutive constructors’ crown.
That’s despite Perez consistently being under pressure for his poor results, as he scored less than half of Verstappen’s points tally in 2023 while 2024 has not been much better either. Despite that, Horner has publicly stated his faith in Perez on a constant basis and it’s led to him signing an extension which runs until the end of 2026.
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 Marko, whose future at the time was unclear.
Sauber 2025 F1 Drivers
• Nico Hulkenberg - multi-year contract
• TBC
Sauber is currently working through major changes, as it is set to become the Audi F1 team from 2026. One of the first things that CEO Andreas Seidl did in preparation for the switch was to sign Hulkenberg on a multi-year contract, the 36-year-old with whom he won the 2015 Le Mans 24 Hours at Porsche.
Although Hulkenberg being German is understood to be one of the factors in Audi wanting him, it also follows a string of impressive performances at Haas in which he has been its leading driver. Sauber is keen to partner Hulkenberg with Sainz in 2025, but the Spaniard is stalling over his decision.
Should Sauber not land its main target, then that could present an opportunity for Bottas to remain with the team he joined in 2022. The 34-year-old is one of many parties waiting on Sainz to decide his next move, before clarifying his own future.
That means it is very unlikely that Zhou Guanyu will contend a fourth season in F1, having failed to impress much during his three-year stint with the Swiss outfit. Regardless of who Hulkenberg’s team-mate is though, wholesale improvements are needed at the team which finished next-to-bottom in the 2023 standings and so far has zero points in 2024.
Williams 2025 F1 Drivers
• Alex Albon - multi-year contract
• TBC
Williams is another squad to have made a bid for Sainz, and team boss James Vowles publicly stated that the Spaniard is the British outfit’s number one target. At one stage, the likelihood of Sainz joining Williams seemed quite strong but Alpine’s late bid has since cast doubt over that.
If it isn’t Sainz, then Bottas and Ocon are both options for Williams, as is Antonelli should Mercedes decide he is not yet ready for the Silver Arrows. Williams has a history of fielding Mercedes, the team it gets its engines from, drivers, as Russell joined the squad as a rookie in 2019 before eventually moving to the German manufacturer after three years.
These drivers are all in contention for the seat alongside 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 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.
While his fate is secure, the future of team-mate Logan Sargeant looks bleak as the 23-year-old has scored just one point since joining F1 at the beginning of last year. He has simply struggled in motorsport’s top category and has not beaten Albon in grand prix qualifying yet, leading to Vowles stating that Sargeant must improve to keep his seat.
