Which Formula 1 drivers are on the hot seat in 2024?

Sergio Pérez at Red Bull

The Mexican driver for Red Bull is undeniably in danger for next year. His performances at the beginning of the season have been disappointing, although he is still in second place in the drivers’ championship. He is now 125 points behind Max Verstappen and can forget about the title and focus on second place. And it is precisely around the acquisition of this second place that Pérez’s career at Red Bull will be decided.

However, despite a stunning start to the season, rivaling Max Verstappen, the Mexican driver later collapsed after declaring that he was capable of competing for the world title. Making a series of errors in qualifying and suffering from a severe lack of confidence, he couldn’t match the perfection of his Dutch teammate. In the second half of the season, he needs to regain his top form and, above all, keep Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton at a distance, as they are respectively 40 and 41 points behind him in the championship. If he makes mistakes and loses his second place in the standings, Sergio Pérez’s future at Red Bull could be in jeopardy. There is no room for error for the Guadalajara native. Daniel Ricciardo is lurking for a spot in the Austrian team, adding even more pressure on Pérez. There are still 10 Grand Prix races left in 2023 for him to prove that he deserves his place in the best team on the grid.

Kevin Magnussen at Haas

Danish [driver] is one of the drivers who are not yet assured of being present next year. [Last year, he had driven] for Haas in an extraordinary way by decisively beating the young Mick Schumacher, who was actually dismissed at the end of the season. In Brazil, thanks to the weather conditions, he also managed to secure a pole position. But this year, everything is different.

His new teammate, Nico Hülkenberg, is giving him a lot to contend with. 9 points for the German compared to only 2 for Magnussen. Even though Günther Steiner seems satisfied with his pair of drivers, he would like to see more performance from Kevin Magnussen in both qualifying and the race. The Danish driver recently explained that he often doesn’t feel comfortable aboard the Haas, unable to extract the maximum from the car like his teammate does. By the end of the season, Haas could explore other options if Magnussen fails to perform.

Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou at Alfa Romeo

Although the Alfa Romeo is not outstanding in 2023, Valtteri Bottas and his teammate Guanyu Zhou are not perfect either. Bottas scored 5 points and Zhou 4, making it a close and fair duel. However, these two have made some mistakes and struggle to surpass themselves to achieve a great result, as Alex Albon does in the Williams or Nico Hülkenberg does in the Haas. In Hungary, starting from 5th and 7th on the grid after a superb qualifying session, expectations were high. However, neither driver scored any points and had a catastrophic start. They may not be the most endangered drivers, but they still need to show more.

Moreover, the team is reaching a turning point with the arrival of Audi in 2026. The team is restructuring and raising its ambitions. Zhou, in his second year in Formula 1, continues to progress, while Bottas struggles to make the most of his experience. If there is a poor second half of the season, it would not be surprising to see a change in the team. Let’s keep an eye on Théo Pourchaire, linked to Sauber, who is currently leading the Formula 2 championship. If he were to win, he could very well be a candidate to replace Bottas or Zhou.

Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo at AlphaTauri

At AlphaTauri, nothing is ever set in stone, Red Bull calls all the shots. And we saw that clearly with the dismissal of Nyck de Vries after only 10 Grand Prix, replaced by Daniel Ricciardo.

The team is currently in last place in the constructors’ championship with only 3 points. Although the car is difficult to drive and exploit, Tsunoda and Ricciardo will be under scrutiny for the rest of the season. The main reason: young drivers are waiting. In Super Formula in Japan, Liam Lawson is proving to the Red Bull family that he has what it takes to debut in Formula 1. In Formula 2, Ayumu Iwasa is fighting for the title and is also part of the Red Bull program.

Yuki Tsunoda is in his third season in Formula 1, and Red Bull might get tired of him if he doesn’t clearly improve his performance. However, the Japanese driver is doing a fantastic job in 2023: he has scored all the team’s points and thoroughly outperformed Ricciardo in Belgium. Will the overall assessment be good enough for Red Bull at the end of the season?

Daniel Ricciardo is also in danger. The 34-year-old Australian is making his comeback in Formula 1 after an unfortunate episode at McLaren. His goal is to return to Red Bull in 2025, but for that, he will have to deliver very strong performances at AlphaTauri, starting with beating Yuki Tsunoda. If Ricciardo doesn’t perform, he could be replaced by someone younger than him.

With the summer break that started after the Belgian Grand Prix, the potential “silly season” also begins. Last year, it had disrupted the Formula 1 grid. In any case, we will need to closely monitor the performances of the drivers mentioned in this article. Not all of them may make it to 2023.

Lance Stroll at Aston Martin, a special case

Lance Stroll is not performing as well as Fernando Alonso this year at Aston Martin. He also didn’t perform as strongly against Vettel last year. However, Lance Stroll is the son of one of the shareholders at Aston Martin in F1. In fact, he is the majority shareholder: Lawrence Stroll. Therefore, it’s difficult to imagine his son being replaced by another driver.