As things stand at the start of December, 15 of the 20 drivers on the 2024 F1 grid will be out of contract come the end of the season. With almost every team monitoring their line-up for 2025 and beyond, fans look set to be treated to a summer ‘silly season’ to remember.
Of the five drivers who are contracted beyond the end of the 2024 campaign, four are currently driving for Mercedes and McLaren. Both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell signed new, two-year extensions earlier this season, while McLaren moved quickly to tie Oscar Piastri down to a long-term deal after an impressive rookie year.
Lando Norris is also contracted to the Woking-based team beyond next season with his current deal expiring in 2025, while reigning world champion Max Verstappen is set to stay with Red Bull until 2028 after putting pen to paper on a bumper deal in 2022.
Two more drivers look set to be taken off the market soon with Ferrari currently undergoing talks regarding new deals for Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. The former is seen to be the long-term face of their F1 operation, while the latter claimed the only non-Red Bull Grand Prix win of 2023.
Sergio Perez’s future looks more complicated. He’ll need to take a major step forward in 2024 to avoid being replaced by either Yuki Tsunoda or Daniel Ricciardo, both of whom signed one-year deals towards the end of the 2023 campaign, or possibly even Norris, who is on the radar of Christian Horner and Helmut Marko.
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Neither of that pair is likely to remain in the sister team beyond 2024, so expect junior drivers Ayumu Iwasa, Liam Lawson or even Isack Hadjar’s names to be touted around as potential options should either Tsunoda or Ricciardo vacate their seats.
Fernando Alonso is also an interesting case study. His deal with Aston Martin is up at the end of the year and with the team’s form trending downwards and his mid-forties approaching, 2024 could be the final year of his glittering F1 career. Lance Stroll’s exact contract details are unknown and his long-term future remains up in the air.
Alpine’s driver line-up is rock solid in terms of pedigree, but the team will need to make significant strides forward to convince either Pierre Gasly or Esteban Ocon to commit long-term. With Jack Doohan and Victor Martins, they have two extremely talented junior drivers waiting in the wings.
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Williams will also face a major dilemma. Logan Sargeant earned a sophomore year with the Grove-based team despite a difficult rookie season and a decision on his next contract will likely go long into the year once again unless he takes a huge leap in performance early in the campaign. Meanwhile, Alex Albon is catching the eye of some of F1’s biggest names.
Haas and Alfa Romeo could see major changes to their line-ups with all four drivers out of contract come the end of 2024. The performances of Oliver Bearman and Theo Pourchaire will likely play a key role in dictating their decisions with both drivers tipped to make the 2025 grid on the condition of convincing seasons in F2 and Super Formula respectively.
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