50% of the grid ends contract with their current teams at the end of this season and five more will do so next year. This anticipates many interesting negotiations in the coming months.
The 2022 season is going to be very intense for the teams and drivers on the grid, because in a few weeks a new era will officially begin marked by the arrival of the new regulations, which will make the single-seaters change completely.
Recently, we told you all the news and information about the 2022 season in our complete guide, but this time we are going to focus on what will happen from the contractual point of view of the pilots.
Lewis Hamilton, George Russell and Max Verstappen out of contract in 2023
In summary, 10 of the 20 that this year make up the Formula 1 grid end their contract in December, so it won’t take long for both of them to start negotiating their future.
The case that has been talked about the most is that of Carlos Sainz, Well, Mattia Binotto anticipated weeks ago that it would be during the winter when Ferrari would try to renew the Madrid contract.
coveted seats
But Sainz’s is not the only prestigious seat that is currently up in the air for 2023, since Sergio Pérez’s at Red Bull, Fernando Alonso in Alpine or that of Sebastian Vettel in Aston Martin they would also be free at the end of the year if they do not renew their respective agreements.
In the case of the Mexican, it will depend on whether he performs well enough not to encourage Helmut Marko to give Pierre Gasly another chance, while in the case of the Spaniard the decision depends more on whether Alpine meets expectations. The German, meanwhile, is at an intermediate point between both situations.
2023, important year
But if this year will be important in terms of contracts and possible changes, 2023 will be even more so, since at this time five drivers have this date set in the calendar as a limit to renew or change teams.
In addition, they occupy some of the most coveted seats: the two Mercedes currently occupied by Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, the Max Verstappen at Red Bull and Daniel Ricciardo at McLaren, plus Pierre Gasly at AlphaTauri who is always open to finishing at Red Bull if the management deems it necessary.
Alone charles leclerc (Ferrari), Lando Norris (McLaren) and Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) have their long-term future assured, as they have signed contracts that expire in 2024, 2025 and 2024 respectively. Quite a luxury these days.