F1 driver market: Who is signed up for 2023 and beyond?

F1 driver market: Who is signed up for 2023 and beyond?

 

 

 
The 2022 F1 season has not even started but it will not be long before focus begins to switch towards the future, with teams needing to firm up their driver line-ups for the following campaign. As it stands, only two teams have concrete line-ups in place 2023, while three currently have no drivers signed up beyond the end of the upcoming season. Mercedes and McLaren are the only two teams with a confirmed driver pairing, assuming Lewis Hamilton does not decide to walk away from the sport after the controversial ending to the 2021 world championship. Last year, the seven-time world champion agreed a fresh contract covering the 2022 and 2023 seasons, while George Russell has joined Mercedes on a long-term deal. Related McLaren predicts “extremely high” development rate in F1 2022 Chinese GP secures extended F1 race deal until 2025McLaren tied down Lando Norris to a new, multi-year extension last year, while teammate Daniel Ricciardo is also under contract for the 2023 season. 2931991.0064.jpg After winning his maiden F1 title in Abu Dhabi, Max Verstappen declared that he wanted to stay with Red Bull for the rest of his career. “They know I love them and I hope we can do this for 10 or 15 years together,” he said. “There’s no reason to change ever. I want to stay with them for the rest of my life. I hope they let me.”Related Qatar GP confirmed on revised 2021 F1 calendar, 10-year-deal from 2023 F1 rejects “wrong” rumours it could delay 2022 rules until 2023Verstappen’s current contract, signed in 2020, runs until the end of 2023 but the Dutchman is already being linked with a new long-term Red Bull deal. Red Bull will continue to field an unchanged line-up for 2022 after deciding to retain Sergio Perez, who is set to become a free agent at the end of the year. Back in December 2019, Charles Leclerc signed a new five-year contract with Ferrari to stay at the Italian outfit until at least the end of 2024. “4Meanwhile, Ferrari is set to open talks with Carlos Sainz to extend the Spaniard’s contract beyond the end of 2022 following an impressive first season at Maranello. Grand prix winner Esteban Ocon secured his future at Alpine when he was rewarded for a brilliant start to 2021 with a new long-term contract that will keep him at Enstone until the end of 2024.3011992.0064.jpg The identity of Ocon’s teammate for 2023 will largely depend on whether Fernando Alonso decides to continue in F1, otherwise a seat could open up for Alpine protege and reigning Formula 2 champion Oscar Piastri.Lance Stroll’s seat at Aston Martin looks a safe bet given his father Lawrence owns the Silverstone-based squad, while it remains to be seen whether Sebastian Vettel will extend his stint with the team beyond the end of the year. “5Valtteri Bottas can finally boast long-term security after signing a multi-year deal with Alfa Romeo following his Mercedes exit. He will joined at Alfa by F2 graduate Guanyu Zhou for 2022.The biggest question marks surround AlphaTauri, Williams and Haas, all of whom have no drivers under contract for 2023. Expect plenty of intrigue over those seats in particular in the coming months…MercedesLewis Hamilton (end of 2023)George Russell (multi-year) Red Bull Max Verstappen (end of 2023) TBC Ferrari Charles Leclerc (end of 2024) TBCMcLaren Lando Norris (multi-year) Daniel Ricciardo (end of 2023) AlpineEsteban Ocon (end of 2024) TBCAlphaTauriTBC TBCAston Martin Lance Stroll (Ongoing) TBCAlfa Romeo Valtteri Bottas (multi-year)TBCWilliams TBC TBCHaas TBC TBC 

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