2025 F1 drivers and teams | GRR
The makeup of the grid that forms the 2025 Formula 1 season is one of the most intriguing in the last couple of decades of the sport. From the moment that Sir Lewis Hamilton announced he was leaving Mercedes for Ferrari in 2025 almost the whole grid was up for grabs.
Which F1 teams have their driver lineups confirmed for 2025?
Right now on April 26 2024, only two teams are totally confirmed with their two drivers for 2025: Ferrari and McLaren. At Ferrari Charles Leclerc was tied to a long-term contract at the start of 2024, and his new team-mate Hamilton signed a two-year deal to begin at the start of 2025. McLaren has already tied its two impressive young drivers, Brit Lando Norris and Aussie Oscar Piastri to deals for the new season.
What other drivers are confirmed at F1 teams for 2025?
Beyond that, there are currently only four other drivers that we can truly say we know have seats for 2025. The obvious one is Max Verstappen who is signed to a contract with Red Bull. Unless something major happens, possibly to do with the future of Christian Horner, it would be odd to see the three-time World Champion break that contract.
Lewis Hamilton’s current team-mate George Russell has a contract until at least the end of 2025 and will expect to lead the team once the seven-time champion leaves at the end of 2024. George didn’t find times particularly easy in 2023, but remains the only driver to win for Mercedes under the current rules.
The other driver who was already signed up to his team for 2025 before the start of this year is Alexander Albon. The Williams driver is currently set to remain at the Grove team for 2025 but his excellent performances over the last few years have put the British-born Thai driver back on the radar of some teams higher up the grid, potentially including his former employers at Red Bull Racing.
The additional driver whose future we know was announced in the last few weeks. Speculation had surrounded whether Fernando Alonso was pushing for the empty seat at Mercedes for next season, but the two-time World Champion quashed those rumours by signing his future to Aston Martin through 2025 and 2026.
Just as this article was about to be published, Sauber announced that Nico Hulkenberg would join the team for 2025 on a multi-year deal, making him the first confirmed driver for Audi’s new F1 project.
Which drivers do not have F1 contracts for 2025?
Quite a few. Carlos Sainz is drawing many admirers, with Audi seeming like the most likely destination – especially after Red Bull consultant Helmut Marko outright stated that Audi was after the Spaniard. It seems slightly ironic that Sainz is the only non-Red Bull driver to win a race since Brazil 2022, but one of the first drivers to lose their seat for 2025.
At Alpine, both Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly’s contracts end after the 2024 season. Haas drivers, Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber drivers, Zhou Guanyou and Valtteri Bottas, and RB drivers, Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda, all have contracts that run out at the end of the current F1 season.
Fernando Alonso’s team-mate Lance Stroll has spent the last few seasons without an announcement on his future until late in the season, but with his father owning the team it seems unlikely that the Canadian will lose his seat. At Williams Logan Sargeant seems in a precarious position.
It’s not a great show of support when your team drops you for your teammate at a Grand Prix after said teammate writes off a chassis. Williams has several young drivers waiting in the wings to step in should the American not be retained.
Who will drive for Red Bull in F1 in 2025?
This is the most intriguing question on the whole grid. Sergio Perez has been a reasonably dependent partner for Max Verstappen in the last three years, but Red Bull has definitely wished that he was closer to the Dutchman at times.
Perez has no contract for 2025, and Red Bull has not tried to hide the fact that it’s looking around, making reasonably public eyes at Carlos Sainz following his smart start to the 2024 season.
It had been expected that the team was grooming Daniel Ricciardo for a return to the t top team after a season back in F1 with RB. But the Australian’s disappointing return so far has put a question mark on that move. Teammate Yuki Tsunoda has gradually improved year-on-year but still doesn’t seem quite in the frame for a step up.
Red Bull has been keen on Lando Norris in the past, but the Englishman is under contract at McLaren so it might be tricky to extricate him, especially given McLaren’s recent experiences in IndyCar.
Who will drive for Mercedes in F1 in 2025?
Perhaps a little less intriguing, but also interesting to follow is the future partner of George Russell at Mercedes. The obvious candidate would be Andrea Kimi Antonelli. The young Italian is the star of Mercedes' junior programme, so much so that Mercedes sprung him directly from Formula Regional to F2 for 2024. He’s also been out testing recent F1 machinery for Mercedes in the last few months. If Antonelli develops as hoped in 2024 then Mercedes will be happy to throw him into the car for ‘25.
Alternatives to Antonelli seem short on supply. Paul Aron was Mercedes’ other promising junior, but he was dropped from the programme at the end of 2023. Many connected Carlos Sainz with the seat to be vacated by Lewis Hamilton, but it sounds more and more like Audi has got there first.
We’ll keep updating this page through 2024 with any news on who is racing in Formula 1 in 2025, so stay tuned to GRR for all the F1 2025 grid news.
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