F.1godfather

Remarkable as it seems but 10 F1 drivers head into the season knowing they will be fighting to land a new deal before the year is out.

Big names in Ferrari‘s Carlos Sainz, Sebastian Vettel at Aston Martin, Fernando Alonso with Alpine and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez are all out of contract at the end of the season.

Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto made clear before Christmas he intended to sit down with Sainz over the winter to secure his services for a similar period as Charles Leclerc, who is contracted through to the end of 2024.

As for veterans in Alonso and Vettel, both will likely take stock of how their teams fare this season with the new regulations before determining if they want to continue in F1 into 2023.

Vettel’s team-mate, Lance Stroll, was confirmed for this season in September, albeit with no announcement as to the length of any agreement. Given his father owns the team, it is fair to assume his seat is safe for 2023 if he performs to a reasonable level.

Perez, meanwhile, was handed a new one-year extension in late August last year and will again be required to prove himself with the new cars this season if he is to be handed a new agreement for next season.

At AlphaTauri, Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda were confirmed for this season back in September but due to the team’s philosophy both know they again have to fight for their place for next year.

It is a similar situation at Williams where it is understood both Albon and team-mate Nicholas Latifi only have one-year contracts.

At Alfa Romeo, the sole rookie on the grid this year in Guanyu Zhou only signed a one-year deal so will need to prove he can quickly get up to speed in F1 if he is to retain his seat for 2023.

His value to the team, however, has already been significant off track so far given the plethora of enquiries from potential new sponsors due to him becoming the first Chinese driver to compete in F1.

At Haas, Mick Schumacher‘s deal also expires at the end of the year. The German is backed heavily by Ferrari, however, with whom he will be available as a reserve driver for 11 grands prix this season.

Team-mate Nikita Mazepin‘s contract is also believed to expire this year, which would take the total to a possible 12 overall but as with Stroll at Aston Martin, given his father’s influence at the team, you would assume he has a secure seat for 2023.

Confirmed 2023 driver line-up

Mercedes – Lewis Hamilton [deal through to the end of 2023 should he return to the team for this season]; George Russell [signed ‘a long-term deal’ in September]

Red Bull – Max Verstappen [deal through to the end of 2023]

Ferrari – Charles Leclerc [deal through to the end of 2024]

McLaren – Lando Norris [signed a new ‘multi-year’ deal in May]; Daniel Ricciardo [deal through to the end of 2024]

Alpine – Esteban Ocon [deal through to the end of 2024]

Alfa Romeo – Valtteri Bottas [deal through to the end of 2023]