Formula 1 will have multiple new faces in 2025. Multiple rookies will join the grid and some drivers will say their goodbyes. Here are all the drivers confirmed for 2025.
The Formula 1 2024 season is almost at its end. This year’s silly season, as the driver market chaos is often referred to, started quite early. Since February 1st, when Ferrari announced Lewis Hamilton as their new driver, many plot twists occurred.
Next year is definitely going to be the season of the rookies. New faces will join the F1 grid in 2025, with some additions more obvious than others. And yet, The excitement to see young drivers welcomed in Formula 1 is always present. On the other hand, there is also sadness. This is because some experienced drivers will have to leave their current teams, while others will say goodbye to the motorsport altogether.
Here are all the drivers that we will see next season, at least so far. Because in the world of Formula 1, nothing is always certain.
Red Bull
Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez
The current World Champions confirmed their pair for the upcoming season.
In May, Red Bull announced that Max Verstappen had renewed the contract with the team until 2028. It was almost obvious that the Dutch driver would continue his career at Red Bull. Yet, he has said multiple time times that he doesn’t think that he’ll stay in F1 after that.
Max Verstappen is currently a three times three-time World Champion and this season he may win his fourth championship with Red Bull.
Despite his underwhelming season, back in June, Red Bull confirmed the Mexican had signed a contract extension keeping him in the team until 2026. For this reason, his future is uncertain, and rumours about his departure from Red Bull and F1 are rising. And with young talents such as Liam Lawson impressing the grid, his permanence in the team is on the line.
Ferrari
Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton
Charles Leclerc is the Ferrari’s shining star and he has never failed to express his love for the Scuderia. So, his new contract with the team of Maranello was expected. What almost shocked the Tifosi was the fact that the team didn’t announce an expiration date.
The announcement just stated that the driver will be with Ferrari for “several more seasons”. It is likely that Leclerc has a five–year extension with the Cavallino, at least until 2029. This makes him the driver with the longest contract with Ferrari alongside Michael Schumacher.
In February, Lewis Hamilton and Scuderia Ferrari announced his switch to the Italian team. Hamilton will have Carlos Sainz’s seat and all the eyes are on the new teammates in red. The seven-time World Champion had a contract with Mercedes until 2025 but evidently had a release clause.
Mercedes
George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli
George Russell, just like his soon-to-be ex–teammate, signed his contract with Mercedes until 2025. In 2023, the Brit signed a two-year deal with Mercedes, but unlike Hamilton, Russell has decided to keep his place in the team.
For next season, he will be paired with Andrea Kimi Antonelli. The 18-year-old Italian was on Toto Wolff’s radar for a long time. After his premature debut in Formula 2 with Prema, Mercedes announced him as their driver for the 2025 season.
His contract is currently only for the upcoming season, but it is likely that he will have an extension if his performances will be judged positively.
McLaren
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri
Just like Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris signed a multi-years multi-year contract with his team. It’s understood that Norris had talks with Red Bull, but ultimately decided to stay at McLaren.
In January 2024, McLaren announced that Norris signed a long–term deal with them, at least until 2026. But, the expiration date may be way beyond that season.
In 2023, Oscar Piastri debuted with McLaren and had a fantastic season for a rookie. Later in that same season, the driver announced that he would keep his seat in the Papaya team for another four years.
This means that, at least until 2026, McLaren will keep the Norris-Piastri duo.
Aston Martin
Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll
Fernando Alonso came to Aston Martin in 2023, after the announcement made during the 2022 season. Originally, his contract kept him in Laurence Stroll’s team until 2024.
During this season, Aston Martin announced that El Nano will drive for them for the 2025 and 2026 seasons, with a partnership that will likely continue after that. The next seasons are going to be really interesting for Aston Martin, especially with the upcoming arrival of Adrian Newey.
In June, his teammate Lance Stroll also resigned with Aston Martin for 2026, extending his partnership with his father’s team.
Alpine
Pierre Gasly and Jack Doohan
Before the Austrian Grand Prix, Alpine announced that Pierre Gasly will keep driving for them beyond 2025. Since this was a very difficult year for the French team, securing Gasly for the upcoming season was a priority.
The same cannot be said for the other Alpine driver, Esteban Ocon, who will depart from the team at the end of this season. In his place, there will be Jack Doohan. The rookie is already a reserve driver for Alpine and he was the natural choice for them.
However, Doohan was announced for the 2025 season only.
Williams
Alexander Albon and Carlos Sainz
Williams welcomed Alexander Albon in 2022 after his time as a reserve driver for Red Bull. They signed a contract up until the end of 2025. It then was extended with a multi-year deal that will likely last until the 2026 season.
Shortly after announcing that Carlos Sainz would drive alongside Albon in 2025, Franco Colapinto replaced Logan Sargeant mid-season. Since the Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari news, Sainz played a key role in the driver market. Ultimately, he decided to sign with Williams, joining their project for the next two years, at least.
Sauber
Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto
On the 6th of November, Sauber announced the departures of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu. In their place will be Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto.
Nico Hulkenberg came back on the main grid after spending years as a reserve driver in Formula 1. After joining Haas for two years, Hulkenberg decided to leave the team for Sauber. The team that is soon to be Audi represents a huge question mark in F1, but it’s undoubtedly a positive opportunity chance for Nico who can cover the role of first driver.
Sauber said its goodbyes to its previous drivers and then announced Gabriel Bortoleto. The 20-year-old will join the team at the end of the season, leaving McLaren. With the Papaya team, Bortoleto won his Formula 3 title back in 2023, but the team said that they won’t be in his way for his debut in F1 elsewhere.
Haas
Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman
Kevin Magnussen will retire from the sport at the end of this season after seven years with the team. Therefore, Haas will have a new line-up in 2025.
Joining the team will be Esteban Ocon, who will leave Alpine. He will reunite with Ayao Komatsu, Haas Team principal, who worked with him in Lotus in 2014. A connection that will help Ocon to perform at his best, for sure.
Haas also signed Ferrari prodigy Oliver Bearman. The British driver signed for the 2025 season but has already raced for Haas multiple times this year, both during the mandatory rookies’ FP session and as their reserve driver. The last time was just during the race week in Brazil.
Racing Bulls
Yuki Tsunoda and…?
Red Bull’s second team once again confirmed that the Japanese driver, Yuki Tsunoda will be driving for them in 2025. For the fifth season in a row, Tsunoda will race in the same team, but the identity of his teammate is unknown.
At the moment, after Daniel Ricciardo’s sudden retirement, Liam Lawson is in the second seat. But his presence in Racing Bulls is yet to be confirmed for 2025. With the doubts about Perez’s career in Formula 1, it may be possible that Lawson will step up to the main team.
In that scenario, voices say that Racing Bulls may welcome Franco Colapinto or Isack Hadjar to replace him.
