A new way to manage transfers in F1
Lewis Hamilton caused a sensation by announcing his transfer to Ferrari in 2025 even before the season had started. Formula 1 has always operated with a fairly free driver market. Should a limited transfer window like in football be implemented? Here are the responses of the main stakeholders.
At the beginning of the season, eleven drivers on the grid had contracts expiring at the end of 2024. While Lewis Hamilton was the first to communicate his future choices, announcements are now coming in slowly over the past few weeks. This approach sometimes tends to leave teams, media, and supporters in the dark.
Interrogated at a press conference this Thursday, Lewis Hamilton and Pierre Gasly gave their opinion on the idea of implementing a transfer window in the future.
« I’ve never really thought about it. It’s very exciting in other sports, like the NFL for example. But I think it’s pretty exciting now [in F1]. No one knows who’s going where. Of course, little by little, we see it drip by drip throughout the season. And I think that when the drivers move, it causes a certain chaos. And I saw Formula 1 post the other day that there are still a lot of seats that have not been assigned yet.
The multiple world champion does not hide his relief at having been able to decide his future very early. « As far as we are concerned, we are lucky and we feel very lucky to have something locked in. This allows us to plan our future and focus our energy. But it’s exciting for us to see where everyone is going. »
Nico Hülkenberg, who will leave Haas for Sauber in 2025, has also secured his future quite early in the season. A situation he appreciates. In fact, for the first time in my career, it’s quite comfortable for me, you know, I’m somewhat assured and I know where my future lies and I’m watching the musical chairs from afar. It’s a comfortable and pleasant situation.
If the future of some is already sealed, the game of musical chairs continues for others. This is the case, for example, for Pierre Gasly, whose contract expires at the end of the season. After Alpine announced its separation from Esteban Ocon, the future of his compatriot is still unclear. Yet, the Norman likes this situation that he finds exciting.
« I think the current situation is quite exciting. And since the beginning of the year, I think you have written a lot about it and kept everyone very busy. I think it’s fun. We don’t need to copy everything others do. This has always been the case in Formula 1. And I think it works well that way.
Hotter than ever this year, the transfer market seems to be capturing the interest of fans and drivers alike, and there is clearly no question of that changing.
