2025 F1 driver line-ups: latest rumours & contract news

“I believe it will be a matter of time,” Perez told Sky Sports F1 after the Japanese Grand Prix. “Obviously the driver market is moving and the next few weeks are going to be a lot of movement for sure, so I expect within a month to really know what I’m doing next year.”

Unsurprisingly, there is plenty of competition for a seat in the outstanding car of the current generation.

As Red Bull’s previous third driver, Daniel Ricciardo was the obvious choice and his return to the team where he scored seven of his eight grand prix victories between 2014 and 2018 would certainly be a popular one. At 36 years old, the Aussie is one of the more experienced on the grid, but his performance against RB team-mate Yuki Tsunoda so far in 2024 is leaving much to be desired. Following a dismal two-year stint at McLaren, his star isn’t shining as brightly as it once did.

If Christian Horner wanted to introduce a little more youth into his line-up, Tsunoda could become an option should his impressive form continue, as well as Liam Lawson on the sidelines. However, another option is Alex Albon, who has shown impressive form since his last spell at Red Bull. His contract at Williams is due to expire in 2025, but Red Bull could buy the Thai driver out of his current deal.

Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris — two previous Red Bull targets with world championship aspirations — signed big contract extensions prior to the 2024 campaign with Ferrari and McLaren respectively. But as Hamilton’s Maranello move has shown us, anything could be possible heading into what could be a silly season to remember.

 

Ferrari 2025 F1 driver line-up

Charles Leclerc Multi-year contract beyond 2025	Lewis Hamilton Multi-year contract beyond 2025

• Hamilton will join from Mercedes in 2025, replacing Sainz
• Leclerc committed to Ferrari with a new multi-year deal announced at the end of January

Ferrari will have a Lewis Hamilton-Charles Leclerc line-up in 2025, after confirmation of the seven-time champion’s bombshell move from Mercedes.

Hamilton has been linked with the Scuderia for several years, but after two years of Mercedes struggle has now committed to the move, replacing Carlos Sainz, who is out of contract at the end of 2024. He will have turned 40 by the time he joins the grid ahead of his 19th F1 campaign in 2025, but there are no signs that his talent to lead a title charge is diminishing.

It sets up the mouthwatering prospect of a fierce team-mate rivalry between F1’s most successful driver and one of its hottest talents, who is still waiting for a car that can support a sustained title challenge.

Leclerc committed his future to Ferrari early with a multi-year deal announced in January, despite repeated frustrations at the team. There were times last season where Leclerc looked anguished at another lost opportunity, as he watched Verstappen cruise to victory while he was stuck with a car that didn’t match his talent.

Can a Hamilton-Leclerc duo once again deliver a title for the Maranello team. And who would be lifting the trophy?

 

Mercedes 2025 F1 driver line-up

George Russell Contract to 2025	TBC

• George Russell has contract to 2025
• Lewis Hamilton will move to Ferrari

Mercedes seemed to be one of only two teams to have its driver line-up secured for 2025, with both George Russell and Lewis Hamilton signing extensions in the midst of the 2023 season. But a break clause in Hamilton’s deal has been activated and he will move to Ferrari in 2025.

Mercedes has no shortage of options to replace its former champion. F4-turned-F2 prodigy Andrea Kimi Antonelli is currently the favoured candidate, and has been tipped to parter Russell next year should he replicate his searing form in F1’s feeder series. But if Toto Wolff decides instead to invest in experience, Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz are options, given their recent and impressive form.

While there remain many question marks surrounding one Mercedes seat, Russell’s future at Brackley looks likely to go beyond 2025. The team’s most recent race-winner, he looks to have the pace when he has the chance to fight wheel to wheel with the likes of Norris, Leclerc and even Verstappen, but a lack of consistency hindered his progress in 2023 — as he fell 59 points behind him team-mate in the drivers’ standings.

 

McLaren 2025 F1 driver line-up

Lando Norris Contract to 2026	Oscar Piastri Contract to 2026

• Norris signed new contract ahead of 2024, keeping him with McLaren until ’26
• Piastri’s 2023 performance earned him contract extension

Much like Mercedes, McLaren will not be part of the scramble for 2025 seats with its youthful driver line-up already confirmed.

Ahead of the 2024 campaign, Lando Norris has signed another long-term deal which will keep the Brit racing in papaya until at least 2026, with the possible option to extend beyond that date. Not only does this show faith in the team’s development on Norris’ part but also prevents him for moving elsewhere in pursuit of his world title ambitions — leaving McLaren with a solid foundation to build upon in the years to come.

Norris arguably had his best F1 season to date in 2023, as at the wheel of a resurgent MCL60 he scored seven podium finishes in the midst of Red Bull dominance and stood sixth in the drivers’ standings — just one point behind Charles Leclerc in fifth and Fernando Alonso in fourth.

Should McLaren’s current development plan continue, Norris could be a title-contender by as early as 2025. But should the team take another nose dive in performance or fail to match the consistency of the front-runners, a move to the likes of Red Bull or Ferrari will look appealing.

Even without Norris, McLaren’s future looks secure after signing Oscar Piastri to a long-term deal after the Aussie’s performance in 2023 triggered an extension midway through his rookie campaign. Although still lacking the consistent results produced by his team-mate, Piastri was undoubtably the best rookie driver on the 2023 grid as he secured podium finishes in Japan and Qatar as well as a sprint race win. Continued development throughout 2024 and 2025 may well see Norris and Piastri fighting to prove their superiority over the other.

 

Aston Martin 2025 F1 driver line-up 

Lance Stroll Rolling contract	Fernando Alonso Multi-year contract beyond 2025

• Lance Stroll appears secure while his father controls the team
• Alonso has signed a multi-year deal that will take him into at least 2026

Aston Martin found a consistent place among F1’s elite in 2023, but its future beyond that fruitful season seems to be in doubt.

The team was led mostly by the efforts of a 42-year-old Fernando Alonso, who scored almost three-quarters of the team’s total points in 2023 — courtesy of eight podium visits and ten further point scoring finishes.

Its start to 2024 has been less assured but, even so, Alonso has committed himself to the team. His contract was due to expire at the end of 2014 but, after the Japanese Grand Prix, he signed a multi-year deal that will take him to 2026 and potentially beyond.

It was a quick decision from the the two-time world champion, who may have been under pressure to sign or risk losing the seat, given the quality of drivers yet to confirm a seat for 2025. At the team’s 2024 car launch, Alonso indicated that he was unsure of his future: “First I have to decide if I want to keep racing. Then I’ll talk to Aston. But if those things don’t succeed, I’ll look at what is available.”

On the other side of the garage, Lance Stroll’s performance last year did little to help Aston towards a top four finish in the constructors’ standings with an average finishing position of 12th and not a single podium position scored. But his position with the team is set to go unchallenged for the foreseeable future, with his father Lawrence remaining in control of the outfit as its executive chairman and owner.

Meanwhile former F2 champion and budding talent Felipe Drugovich is languishing on the sidelines in a reserve driver role.

 

Alpine 2025 F1 driver line-up

TBC	TBC

• Friction between Ocon and Gasly could lead one or both to look elsewhere
• Team appears unstable after management changes

Alpine underwent major upheaval in 2023, with the majority of its high-end staff — including team principal Otmar Szafnauer, sporting director Alan Permane, chief technical officer Pat Fry and director of racing expansion projects Davide Brivio — all cast aside or replaced. A similar fate could meet Enstone’s current driver line-up, with both Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon entering the final year of their respective contracts in 2024.

2023 was a difficult season for the French pairing. Despite podium visits in Monaco and Zandvoort, neither driver was able to find any consistency from the troublesome A523. This ultimately led to a disappointing sixth place finish in the constructors’ standings. The start of 2024 has promised little better.

Neither Gasly or Ocon have revealed many details on their current feelings toward a contract extension — although the former does have the option under the terms of his current deal. In the meantime, new Alpine CEO Philippe Krief will be hoping to find a positive direction within the team so that when the time for negotiations comes around, he can have something concrete to offer to his two emerging stars.

 

Williams 2025 F1 driver line-up 

Alex Albon Contract to 2025	TBC

• Alex Albon likely to be in demand after strong showing at Williams
• Logan Sargeant faces another season of proving his worth

Williams showed the first signs of a resurgence in 2023, in no small part thanks to the efforts of Alex Albon. The Thai-Anglo driver scored all but one of the team’s 27 points which led to its best finish in the constructors’ standings since 2017.

The former Red Bull and Toro Rosso driver signed a multi-year deal with Williams in 2022 which is set to expire at the end of 2025, but has stated to being “open” to other offers with Red Bull apparently considering offering a contract for 2026 — or buying him out of his current deal to secure his talents for 2025. The Milton Keynes outfit is rumoured to have offered Albon a “first option” on his F1 future.

“I’m fully committed to the team until my contract pretty much ends,” Albon told Sports Illustrated. “But I am also 27. Although I’m not young, I’m also not old. And I do feel like I am in a good part of my career. If you take another year I’m 28, then 29 going onto 30 soon. I want to give myself the chance to be able to fight for wins and fight for podiums. And what it comes down to is, at that time and in that time, can we bring this team to be that team?”

The future of Logan Sargeant is as equally uncertain as the American driver earned a last-gasp contract extension into 2024 after a season of inconsistency in ’23. Granted, he is only a rookie and was given little time to prepare for his first F1 campaign but tougher targets will be set in 2024 as the team looks for improvements.

The team appeared convinced by his potential in 2023 but if he can’t eliminate the regular crashes that have dogged the start of his 2024 season, Williams will be overwhelmed by approaches from junior champions jostling for a debut F1 season. Mid-season sensation Liam Lawson has been considered as an option for some time, as Vowles stated that the Kiwi was “absolutely deserving of an F1 seat.” But with Lawson’s future seemingly set to be with Red Bull, there’s also last year’s F2 champion Théo Pourchaire, Aston Martin’s Felipe Drugovich — who is thought to be F1-ready due to his extensive reserve driver experience — or Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli.

 

RB 2025 F1 driver line-up

TBC	TBC

• Reserve driver Liam Lawson is hopeful of a seat in 2025
• Red Bull seat is the goal for Daniel Ricciardo

RB’s current line-up looks to be a short-term fix before a more permanent arrangement for 2025.

That’s partly due to Sergio Perez remaining at Red Bull for another season. It would be no surprise if he left the team at the end of the year and in the absence of any big-name signing — the vacancy could be filled by a driver from sister team RB.

Currently, Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo are on one-year deals which are set to expire at the end of 2024. Both will see this season as a shoot-out to find a potential partner for Verstappen. Ricciardo initially looking to have an advantage thanks to his experience at Red Bull, and his initial pace since returning to F1 with RB last year.

Since the beginning of the season, however, it’s Tsunoda who has looked the stronger driver, outqualifying his team-mate and showing determined and bold racecraft to move through the field.

A promotion for one driver would then leave space for Liam Lawson who impressed last year when standing in for the injured Ricciardo and can count himself unlucky not to have a seat this season.

But succession doesn’t always run so smoothly — particularly in the world of Red Bull. Perceived underperformance by Ricciardo or Tsunoda could see either — or both — leaving the family at the end of the year. Red Bull would have no shortage of takers for the seat currently filled with Perez and, is unlikely to struggle to find drivers for RB either, with Red Bull juniors Ayumu Iwasa and Isack Hadjar looking strong in feeder categories, as well as outsider Malthe Jakobsen, who was stunningly fast in a Peugeot Hypercar test last year.

 

Haas

TBC	TBC

• Haas yet to indicate whether it wants to stick with an experienced line-up
• Owner Gene Haas’s plans are uncertain after departure of team principal Guenther Steiner

Haas took a new approach toward its driver line-up in 2023 — replacing the youth of Mick Schumacher with the experience of Nico Hülkenberg to partner Kevin Magnussen. With over 60 years of racing experience between them, it was suggested that both drivers would be able to get the struggling American marque back on track without costing the team millions in repair fees.

Ultimately it was far from a perfect season as the team finished at the bottom of the constructors’ standings for the second time in the last three seasons, but intermittent shows of pace at least convinced team boss Gunether Steiner to extend both his drivers’ contracts into 2024. But Haas’s plans for 2025 remain a mystery, not least with Steiner now pushed out of the team.

There are also longer-term questions about Gene Haas’s commitment to the team, all of which make it difficult to predict how the team will line up in 2025.

As a customer team to Ferrari, it’s likely that Haas will be asked to make room for the talents of Ollie Bearman, who impressed thoroughly during his rookie F2 campaign in 2023 and delighted further throughout his F1 debut in Jeddah, where he replaced Carlos Sainz on short notice. But who would he replace?

Both Magnussen and Hulkenberg are closer to the end of their F1 careers than the beginning. While the former could be forced to hang up his helmet by the time 2025 rolls around, the latter is rumoured to be under consideration for a drive at Sauber in place of Zhou Guanyu, prior to Audi’s takeover in 2026.

Either situation would allow Bearman to earn a deserved promotion, but if it’s experience that the team is after, with the approach of new rules in 2026, then options should abound with the likes of Sergio Perez, Valtteri Bottas, Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly without confirmed plans as of yet.

Sauber 2024 F1 driver line-up

Nico Hülkenberg	TBC

• Hülkenberg first driver confirmed – Sauber looking to Audi partnership in 2026
• German manufacturer likely to influence line-up

Sauber is already planning for Audi’s arrival as a partner in 2026, with the appointment of former McLaren team boss Andreas Seidl as chief executive to oversee the transition.

Now it has signed up German Nico Hülkenberg, one of F1’s most experienced drivers, to race for it in 2025, 2026 (when it becomes a full manufacturer squad) and potentially beyond owing to his “multi-year” contract.

“We are very pleased to welcome Nico back here in Hinwil from 2025 and to compete with him in Formula 1. With his speed, his experience and his commitment to teamwork, he will be an important part of the transformation of our team – and of Audi’s F1 project,” said CEO Andreas Seidl, who formerly worked with Hülkenberg as team boss of Porsche when the team won Le Mans 2015.

“Right from the start, there was great mutual interest in building something long-term together. Nico is a strong personality, and his input, on a professional and personal level, will help us to make progress both in the development of the car and in building up the team.”

The 2025 driver line-up will clearly be decided with the following year in mind. The German car giant has already been linked with many potential other drivers including Carlos Sainz, Mick Schumacher, Esteban Ocon and current driver Valtteri Bottas — who will enter the final year of his current contract in 2024.

The Finn joined the team from Mercedes ahead of the 2022 campaign and has since been the lead driver. Despite the car’s overall lack of pace, he finished as high as fifth at Imola in his debut season with the team. Development stalled in 2023 and the Swiss marque ultimately finished a close ninth in the constructors’ standings.

Bottas is keen to stay on, with the prospect of improved funding and — in theory — pace. The ten-time F1 race winner wants to enter negotiations with Audi in the early stages of this season with the aim of securing a long-term spot on the F1 grid. “I’m still hungry to get back on the podium eventually,” he said. “The Audi project could be the next opportunity.”

However, the car’s lack of performance has made it difficult for Bottas to demonstrate that he still has the pace that earned him the Mercedes seat and his age — 35 at the start of next year — means that Audi may not see him as a long-term prospect.

There are also questions over Zhou Guanyu — who secured a one-year extension to his current contract midway through the 2023 campaign. The Chinese driver has shown elements of good performance during his short time on the grid — scoring critical points in Australia, Spain and Qatar in 2023 — but has remained rooted to the back of the grid in 2024 qualifying sessions.