The 2022 Formula 1 season has officially reached its summer break – and we all know what that means.
For those new to the sport, this time of year has become known as 'silly season'. With no racing action to prepare for over the next few weeks, it is an ideal time for teams to turn their attentions to other pressing matter – such as who is going to drive their cars next year.
Some of those on the grid can stick their feet up. That includes the 'big three' of Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari, who all have both their drivers tied down until at least the end of next season.
And some are already making moves. Sebastian Vettel announced just before the Hungarian Grand Prix that he will be retiring at the end of the year, and fans were still picking the bones out of the race when Aston Martin revealed they will replace him with Fernando Alonso.
Those two veterans of the sport are among the eight drivers whose future was up in the air coming into this season. With almost half the grid on contracts set to expire, there is plenty of room for upheaval as more big decisions are made by team bosses.
Mirror Sport takes a look at those who could be or already are out of a seat at the end of the year:
Sebastian Vettel
One of the biggest names on this list has determined his own fate by deciding to leave the sport altogether. The four-time world champion told fans he is no longer as committed to the process as he once was, and would instead prefer to spend more time with his wife and children. And as much as we will all miss Vettel, we certainly can't begrudge him that.
Fernando Alonso
Few expected the news on Monday morning that Alonso had agreed to switch to Aston Martin. The Spaniard looked settled with Alpine, the same team where he won his two world championships all those years ago. But the 41-year-old still has fire in his belly and perhaps was tempted by AM's aggressive resolve that they will be competing for race wins one day soon.
Alpine will miss him no doubt, but his departure also solves a problem. They now have a space to promote F2 champion Oscar Piastri from reserve to a fully-fledged F1 driver. It also makes true chief executive Laurent Rossi's prediction that both the Australian and Alonso would be on the grid in 2023 – though perhaps not quite the way they had imagined it.
Lance Stroll
The Canadian is also now confirmed for the 2023 season, but this one was always going to be a foregone conclusion regardless. After all, it certainly helps if your billionaire dad owns the team...
Stroll has many detractors for exactly that reason, though the stick he receives at times can be unwarranted. He now has a lot of experience in F1 and has found some consistency on race days this season – even if his team could do with him scoring points more regularly. Aston Martin could do worse.
Mick Schumacher
Halfway through his second season with Haas and the German has finally found form, with back-to-back points finishes at Silverstone and in Austria. Still, the pressure will be difficult for him to shake – it can't be easy being the son of probably the greatest ever driver to grace the sport.
Haas are yet to indicate whether they will keep Schumacher for 2023, though the general feeling is that team boss Guenther Steiner would like to do so. On the topic, he recently insisted "Ferrari can't tell us what to do", though there is no doubt the Italian team has significant influence over his future. If he does not remain with Haas, Ferrari might negotiate a deal with Alfa Romeo – either way he is still very likely to have a seat in 2023.
Alexander Albon
Driving for Williams would be tricky for anyone this season amid the team's struggles to find any form of competitiveness. Still, in his first season back after a year out of the sport, you will struggle to find many people who don't think the British-Thai racer has done a pretty good job.
The three points he has to his name is more than many drivers might be able to manage. Albon had been linked briefly with the empty seat at Aston Martin until Alonso snapped it up, making it all the more likely that he and Williams will strike a deal to continue their partnership into next year.
Nicholas Latifi
Latifi is a very likeable person, but the general consensus is that he has not done enough to warrant a contract extension. Even going fastest in FP3 at the Hungarian Grand Prix as he did is not likely to have too much impact on the decision.
If Jost Capito does make the expected call and decide to look elsewhere, then Mercedes reserve Nyck de Vries is expected to be near the top of the list. If Williams want to promote one of their own, then Logan Sargeant is giving a pretty good audition in F2 this season to be the first American to race in F1 since Alexander Rossi for Marussia in 2015.
Yuki Tsunoda
Tsunoda is very highly rated by those at the Red Bull driver academy, but he is yet to truly catch fire in F1. Furthermore, there are concerns over his fiery temperament with adviser Helmut Marko recently referring to the Japanese racer as a "problem child".
AlphaTauri chief Franz Tost said he would much prefer to have someone like that than a "holy child", but still wants to see more from him. This decision could go either way, but given the inexperience of most of Red Bull's other development drivers, it would be no surprise to see Tsunoda given one more season to prove his worth.
Zhou Guanyu
Few drivers have had more rotten luck than F1's first Chinese racer this season. His debut campaign has been marred by reliability issues with his Ferrari-manufactured engine and has come within a whisker of points on several occasions.
Given those struggles, a total of five points so far is not an unreasonable amount, and team boss Frederic Vasseur seems pleased with what Zhou has accomplished so far in 2022. The Frenchman hinted at an extension when he said his rookie is "ticking all the boxes", but could Alfa's heads be turned if Ferrari were to offer Schumacher to them? Zhou might need to find another level to make sure his F1 career lasts for more than 12 months.
