F1 SILLY SEASON RAMPS UP

F1 silly season ramps up – Photo: LAT

Formula 1 may be heading into its annual midseason break, but there will be no letup in the annual “silly season” filled with speculation about drivers’ futures for next year and beyond. Here’s a look at how things stand from the paddock of the Hungarian Grand Prix at the beginning of August.

By DAN KNUTSON

Daniel Ricciardo, Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, Max Verstappen, Kevin Magnussen, Kimi Räikkönen and George Russell all have 2020 contracts with their respective teams Renault, Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull, Haas, Alfa Romeo and Williams.

While there is plenty of speculation swirling around the rest of the drivers regarding 2020, next year’s silly season will be even wilder (sillier?) when the drivers listed above are all looking for new deals for 2021.

As reported by AUTO ACTION earlier, Aussie Ricciardo has a get-out clause in his Renault contract should Ferrari or Mercedes offer him a drive for 2020.

McLaren announced in July that it would retain Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris for 2020, ending any speculation of a Fernando Alonso comeback.

Those drivers whose deals expire at the end of 2019 are: Valtteri Bottas, Nico Hülkenberg, Romain Grosjean, Sergio Pérez and Robert Kubica at Mercedes, Renault, Haas, Racing Point and Williams.

Alfa Romeo, meanwhile, has an option on Antonio Giovinazzi for next year.

In another category, Red Bull – and its racing chief Dr. Helmut Marko – has complete control over the futures of Red Bull and Toro Rosso drivers Pierre Gasly, Alexander Albon and Daniil Kvyat. The same is true for Ferrari and Charles Leclerc.

Lance Stroll has a classification to himself. His father Lawrence Stroll is a shareholder in Racing Point, so Lance will drive for the team in the foreseeable future.

Pérez has been signing one-year deals with Force India, now Racing Point, because of the team’s shaky finances. But with that all sorted with the new owners, Pérez now says he sees a long-term future with the team and wants to sign a long-term deal.

Hülkenberg hopes to remain with Renault where he has been since 2017. While Hülkenberg has been regularly outqualified by his new teammate Ricciardo, the limited performance of the car has hampered both drivers from showing their full potential.

Gasly has really picked up his game in recent races, but will it be enough to survive Red Bull’s ruthless rulings on its drivers’ futures? Perhaps so, because Red Bull hires from within, and the only other current options to replace Gasly are Albon and Kvyat. Albon needs another year of seasoning at Toro Rosso.

Red Bull has given Kvyat three chances at Toro Rosso and one at Red Bull. Will it be willing to give Kvyat a second shot in the senior team?

The Haas team is getting exasperated with Magnussen and Grosjean colliding during the races, and one extreme solution would be to replace Grosjean with another driver. Esteban Ocon or Hülkenberg perhaps.

F1 racing will resume in September with the Belgian Grand Prix. Meanwhile, the silly season continues unabated.

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