As the F1 “silly season” begins, here’s an update on the buckets still available for 2025
Places in Formula 1 are in very short supply, and a number of drivers' bays are still to be filled for next season. At present, only Mercedes, Alpine, Racing Bulls and Sauber have yet to finalize their driver line-ups for 2025. Here's a look at the remaining vacancies.
As drivers on the track already know, seats in Formula 1 are rare and difficult to keep. With many talented drivers coming from several categories such as Formula 2 or IndyCar, talented drivers are plentiful and closely monitored by team managers. This year, several seats have already been confirmed in Formula 1. With the arrival of at least one rookie, Oliver Bearman, we already know that a driver from the 2024 grid will have to leave the list of drivers at the end of the season. For the occasion, it is time to take stock of the seats still available for next year.
The available driver positions in Formula 1.
The initial grid of Formula 1 has a maximum of 20 places for many years. As of today, half of the teams on the grid are already full for next season. Six teams have already announced their driver line-up for 2025, which means that only four teams still have available slots. If drivers want another opportunity in the sport, they will have to look towards Mercedes, Alpine, Racing Bulls, or Sauber.
Mercedes, a very popular British team in Formula 1, has already confirmed George Russell for next season. With Lewis Hamilton leaving for Ferrari, there is therefore one spot to fill alongside the former Williams driver. Several drivers could already be considered, but very few involve the current Formula 1 grid. Remember that Logan Sargeant, Valtteri Bottas, Guanyu Zhou, Daniel Ricciardo, and Kevin Magnussen have not yet found a seat.
The French team **Alpine has rehired French driver Pierre Gasly** who had joined the team in 2023 for 2025. With Esteban Ocon’s departure to Haas, **a second seat is now vacant beside him**. Although rumors indicated a possible contract with Carlos Sainz, the former Ferrari driver finally signed with Williams. Therefore, no one is confirmed for this second seat.
The seat at Racing Bulls, currently vacant, could still belong to Daniel Ricciardo, who is already a driver for the team in 2024. Even though this position is officially empty, the Australian driver, who is committed to the team, does not seem to have disappointed the outfit. So far, Racing Bulls has never expressed its desire to publicly terminate Daniel Ricciardo’s contract. A possible departure of Sergio Pérez could have allowed Ricciardo to move up to the Red Bull main team, but a potential contract termination was denied by Christian Horner. The Australian could therefore stay at Racing Bulls, even if the seat remains available for now.
The last available seat is therefore at Sauber, while the team will become Audi in 2026. With a few candidates, but no public serious discussions, it seems that the announcement will be made by Audi itself. This was the case for Nico Hülkenberg, since the driver, who has a contract expiring in over a year, is actually committing to the German team. Even though Nico Hülkenberg has been confirmed, for the moment, nobody knows who will take the wheel alongside him.
With only four seats still available in Formula 1, drivers from other motorsports are closely monitoring these opportunities. Team principals, on the other hand, are carefully considering which drivers will be the right fit for their team. With the current summer break underway, we will have to wait to see more seats being confirmed.
