The rumour mill is full of completely bonkers rumours of big names off to different big teams for 2015. While a lot of these seem plausible, a lot of other ones are pretty crazy due to drivers being contracted with their current teams. This article will look at which drivers have contracts for 2015, and which ones are on the market for a new drive. Here is what we know for Silly Season 2015 already.
Mercedes
Current championship leader Nico Rosberg has recently signed a two year contract extension, so he isn’t going anywhere for 2015 or 2016. Link
Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton will enter the third year of his three year deal. The team may decide to extend his contract too; I can’t see why they wouldn’t at least give Hamilton the offer. He has, however, been linked with a return to McLaren, the team which he grew up with. Link
Red Bull-Renault
Sebastian Vettel will enter his seventh year with Red Bull Racing in 2015. He currently has a contract until the end of 2015, although some do believe that there are clauses in his contract saying that he can leave the team if he or they do not perform well enough. Link
Vettel’s team mate Daniel Ricciardo has unsurprisingly already ‘earned his place’ at the Milton Keynes-based squad for 2015, so it’s highly unlikely that he will be going anywhere. Link
Ferrari
Kimi Raikkonen is one of two drivers who have the constant questions regarding retirement. Raikkonen, who has struggled in 2014 so far, has said that he will probably stop when his current contract expires, at the end of 2015. There are lots of rumours going around that Ferrari could axe Raikkonen with a year left on his contract for another driver, something that has occurred once before – but this time, for Jules Bianchi. Link
Fernando Alonso is one name on everybody’s lips, with him and Ferrari yet to deliver a title together. Some seem to think that Alonso is willing to move away, possibly back to McLaren, where he had a very tough time in 2007. I can’t quite see that happening, especially as he is contracted until the end of 2016. Link
Williams-Mercedes
Felipe Massa has been reasonably successful at Williams so far, he is currently on a ‘multi-year’ contract, so he’s going nowhere until at least the end of the 2015 season. Link
Team mate Valtteri Bottas has been with Williams since 2010 and his impressive performances have raised eyebrows up and down the paddock already this year. One team he has been linked with is McLaren-Honda. He has a contract with Williams for 2015, and I don’t think that they will let him go too easily. Link
Force India-Mercedes
Sergio Perez, who scored Force India’s second podium in Formula One earlier this year has a multi-year deal, he isn’t going anywhere. Link
Like Perez, Nico Hulkenberg is currently on a multi-year deal. He shouldn’t be going anywhere, but like Bottas, has been linked with McLaren. Link
McLaren-Honda
Depending on which source you read, McLaren will have about a dozen different drivers next season. Both Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen are yet to be confirmed for 2015, and with Stoffel Vandoorne, Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas, Romain Grosjean, Nico Hulkenberg and so many other names being thrown around, this is where the first major announcement will be made for 2015. Link
Toro Rosso-TBA
It is highly unlikely that Jean-Eric Vergne will be retained for a fourth season with Toro Rosso. Although Vergne hasn’t been too bad this year, with Carlos Sainz Jr, Alex Lynn, Max Verstappen and Antonio Felix da Costa all hanging about waiting to break into F1, it looks bad for the Frenchman.
Team mate Daniil Kvyat has raised multiple eyebrows already in his short F1 career, and I simply can’t see him moving for 2015. Saying this, the team are yet to confirm the young Russian, but it looks like it will be a case of when, rather than if.
Lotus-Mercedes*
Mercedes powertrain confirmation all but confirmed.
Romain Grosjean is one driver who is certainly being linked with other teams for 2015. He has comprehensively outrun Pastor Maldonado so far this season and there are strong rumours of the popular Frenchman going to McLaren. He is certainly looking elsewhere. Link
Pastor Maldonado was recently confirmed at Lotus for a second season. Link
Marussia-TBA
Max Chilton has shown steady signs of improvement during his F1 career so far, and he is confident that he will remain at Marussia for a third season. The team also seem happy enough with him. Link
Jules Bianchi is another name being linked with a bigger team. Many seem adamant that Ferrari will kick Kimi Raikkonen out at the end of this season and put Bianchi in alongside Fernando Alonso. I still feel that it is a bit early for Bianchi, but for 2016, he will probably be ready by then. He hasn’t ruled out a Ferrari seat for 2015, but I do think that it is unlikely.
Sauber-Ferrari
With Sauber being behind Marussia in the standings, one could say that both drivers have seriously underperformed this year. All three of Sauber’s test and development drivers have been linked with a seat there for next year, as well as their two current drivers. It is highly likely that their line-up will consist of any two out of the following: Adrian Sutil, Esteban Gutierrez, Sergey Sirotkin, Simona de Silvestro and Giedo van der Garde.
Caterham-Renault
Team boss Christijan Albers has made it clear that both their drivers are under threat of losing their seat. Test driver Robin Frijns has already been linked with a race seat there before the season ends. With Caterham now in a transition phase, it isn’t completely out of the question to see both Kamui Kobayashi and Marcus Ericsson axed. Link
In short:
Mercedes: Rosberg/Hamilton – All but confirmed
Red Bull: Vettel/Ricciardo – All but confirmed
Ferrari: Raikkonen/Alonso – All but confirmed
Williams: Massa/Bottas – All but confirmed
Force India: Perez/Hulkenberg – Confirmed
McLaren: TBC/TBC – Likely to retain at least Magnussen, probably both drivers
Toro Rosso: TBC/TBC – Likely to retain Kvyat
Lotus: Maldonado/TBC – Depends on Grosjean movement
Marussia: TBC/TBC – Possibly could retain both drivers
Sauber: TBC/TBC – Any two out of at least five possible drivers
Caterham: TBC/TBC – Could be pretty much anybody
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