The first bombshell went off before the Hungarian Grand Prix when Sebastian Vettel announced his retirement from Formula 1 at the end of the season. The second in the chain broke after the Grand Prix. And it’s a move to Vettel’s headquarters at Aston Martin Fernando Alonso, as he was expected to continue driving for Alpin.
Alpin’s plan was to announce as early as Tuesday that next season’s lead driver would be highly acclaimed young driver Oscar Piastri, who was expected to fill a void in the team following Alonso’s departure. But Alpin announced the transfer of Piastri without the knowledge of the pilot himself, who was in the system of this team. The following day, Piastri announced that he was not going to play for Alpin next season.
“I understand that without my consent Alpine F1 issued a press release late tonight that I will be driving for them next year. This is untrue and I have not signed a contract with Alpine for 2023. I will not be driving not for Alpine next year,” Piastri said.
This will likely have a domino effect for the rest of the teams in 2023.
With the driver market now in utter chaos, Athletistic is studying the likely moves that could shape the starting grid next season.
“Mercedes”
Confirmed pilots: Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.
If there is a team in which everything has been stable in recent years, it is Mercedes.
Obviously, the Silver Arrows don’t need to replace the seven-time world champion in Hamilton.
With one seat open last season, the rather logical choice was made to replace Valtteri Bottas with primary reserve driver George Russell, and given the Briton’s exceptional start at Mercedes, the team need look no further. . Both remain on the team for 2023.
“Red Bull”
Confirmed pilots: Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.
Another team that now has no interest in the driver market. Red Bull may not have a better driver mix in terms of balancing team and driver interests.
They have the world champion and leader of this year Max Verstappen and in Sergio Pérez they have the number 2 rider who, although not as fast as the Dutchman, has a lot of experience and is an excellent relay for Max.
Verstappen signed a new long-term contract at the start of the season, with Pérez extending his deal in May for a further 2 years.
“Ferrari”
Confirmed pilotsStory by: Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.
Ferrari’s PR car should have been on a roll in recent weeks as a series of catastrophic errors at virtually every Grand Prix saw the team’s title hopes quickly evaporate.
Charles Leclerc is tied to the team until 2026, Sainz also signed a two-year contract at the start of the season.
Whether they can now help out and try to fulfill the dream of winning the world championship remains to be seen, but the driver market is the only problem in F1 that Ferrari doesn’t have.
“McLaren”
Confirmed pilots: Lando Norris
Potential pilots: Daniel Ricardo Oscar Piastri
Now it gets interesting. Lando Norris is McLaren’s golden boy and the team will be desperate for the Briton to lead the team as they look to get back to the top. Norris has a contract until 2025.
His teammate Daniel Ricciardo also has a contract for next season, but after two difficult seasons, the Australian can still leave the team, whether by his own choice or by decision of the team. In any case, this leaves its place potentially open.
The new favorite to potentially replace the popular Aussie is fellow countryman Piastri after the F2 champion shocked Alpine saying he had a better option elsewhere. And what better than Alpine among the available options? Only McLaren.
“Alpine”
Confirmed pilots: Esteban Ocon
Potential pilots: Pierre Gasly, Piastri, Riccardo
Here we are at the epicenter of the storm. First, a simple equation: next season the team will be led by current driver Esteban Ocon.
He was expected to spend a third season with Alonso until the shock departure of the Spaniard, who was unhappy at not being given a multi-year deal and lost faith in the team’s ability to progress.
Piastri was to replace him – albeit a year ahead of schedule. However, in the end, we saw Piastri’s refusal to play for the France team.
This could open the door for Ricciardo, Daniel could return to the team he only left at the end of 2020 when it was still called Renault.
AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly could also receive an offer to fill out to form an all-French roster of riders.
“Alpha Tauri”
Confirmed pilots: Not
Potential pilots: Gasley, Yuki Tsunoda, Mick Schumacher.
The team has problems with riders next year. Alpha Tauri boss Franz Tost is ‘100 per cent sure’ Gasly will be with the team next season, but that hasn’t stopped the Frenchman from being linked with Alpine.
Yuki Tsunoda is error-prone and doesn’t quite live up to expectations. However, the 22-year-old could have one more year to impress, and that’s even more likely if Gasly leaves.
A third contender for the spot could be Mick Schumacher, who, after a very poor start to the year, is now starting to show good results in the Haas team.
“Aston Martin”
Confirmed pilots: Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.
It was a difficult year for Aston Martin as the team had to work hard to earn points and were rocked ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix following the announcement of Vettel’s retirement.
But Alonso has signed a two-year contract and he will be teammate Lance Stroll, who has done a lot of work for the team and is of course the son of billionaire owner Lawrence Stroll, which means the squad is complete.
“Williams”
Confirmed pilots: Alex Albon
Potential pilots: Piastri, Nick de Vries, Nicholas Latifi, Logan Sargeant.
Williams is no longer the dream ticket he was in the 1990s and early 2000s, but he is still on the Formula 1 grid and there is no shortage of names to take his place alongside Alex Albon the next season. The former Red Bull driver has done a great job on his return to the team, overtaking Nicholas Latifi who, although still an option for 2023, is fighting to stay in F1 after the current campaign failed.
Many believed the original plan was for Piastri to spend a year on loan with the team before replacing Alonso, but that is now unlikely.
Instead, Mercedes could offer Williams to provide experience for their back-up Nick de Vries.
American Logan Sargent is also the focus of the team’s attention, Jost Capito is “absolutely confident” the reserve Williams will one day race in F1 as he continues to impress in F2 this season.
Alfa Romeo
Confirmed pilots: Valtteri Bottas
Potential pilotsStory by: Zhou Guangyu, Schumacher
A curious situation within the Alfa Romeo team, which, while actively working on the market, is slowly trying to retain its driver line-up for next season.
Valtteri Bottas’ strong first season with the team means he will go nowhere in 2023, back on his best form since stepping out of Hamilton’s shadow at Mercedes.
Chinese star Zhou Guangyu couldn’t match the speed of his experienced teammate and, apart from the British Grand Prix where he had a horrific crash, he was prone to mistakes.
That being said, there is no rush to find a replacement and he will likely have one more season to impress.
Schumacher could theoretically replace him, given his ties to Ferrari, which runs the Alfa Romeo team.
“Haas”
Confirmed pilots: Kevin Magnussen
Potential pilots: Schumacher, Ricardo.
A much stronger year compared to the meaningless 2021 season has made Haas a much more attractive team to play in the run-up to next year and they only have Kevin Magnussen at the moment.
The team is weighing its potential options for the new season, including retaining Schumacher, who after a very shaky start to the season is now improving with his first career points at the British Grand Prix.
However, Schumacher could still be moved to AlphaTauri, which makes room for Ricciardo.
Vyacheslav Gorbachev/Athletistic
Source: Sport
I am Sandra Jackson, a journalist and content creator with extensive experience in the news industry. I have been working in the news media for over five years. During this time, I have worked as an author and editor at various outlets producing high-quality content that attracts readers from different demographics.
