2023 saw little in terms of driver transfers, with the only change being when Daniel Riccardo replaced Nick De Vries mid season. However, 2024 is setting up to be a season full of changes as drivers approach the end of their contracts and search for new ones in what’s known as silly season.

15 of the 20 drivers contracts will expire next year, with McLaren and Mercedes being the only teams with both drivers locked in.

Redbull

Redbull already have Max Verstappen locked in until 2028 however it’s a different story for his teammate Sergio Perez. 2023 was a difficult year for Perez as he struggled to keep up with Verstappen, winning only 2 races compared to Verstappens 19.

In terms of replacements, the Alpha Tauri pair of Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Riccardo are the main contenders for the second seat at Redbull going into 2024.

Aston Martin

Despite making his debut in 2001, Fernando Alonso at the age of 42 shows no signs of wanting to retire, as he took 8 podiums on his way to 4th in the standings in 2023. Alonso will likely stay with Aston Martin as they have ambitions of becoming a winning team and need a driver who’s capable of fighting at the front.

Lance stroll will also likely retain his seat due to his father Lawrence stroll owning the team, despite the fact that Stroll had a poor season in 2023, scoring 74 points compared to Alonsos 206.

Williams

Logan Sargeant had his contract extended for an extra year at the very end of the 2023 season, after a disappointing first year in F1 that saw him be outqualified by his teammate in every single race, and saw just one point scored all season. He’ll need to improve significantly next year if he wants to stay in F1.

It was a different story for his teammate Alex Albon who impressed throughout 2023, scoring 27 points which took Williams to 7th in the standings. There were rumours that he could be going to Ferrari and even if they’re not true there’s every chance he could look elsewhere if he doesn’t believe in the Williams project.

As for potential replacements, Williams will have 2 Junior drivers in F2 next year with Franco Colapinto and Zak O’Sullivan who are both great drivers. Mercedes prospect Kimi Antionelli Will also be racing in F2 in 2024 and could go onto race for Williams in 2025 before going to Mercedes.

Alfa Romeo

2023 was a disappointing year for Alfa Romeo as they finished 9th in the standings compared to 7th the year before. 2024 will be Valtteri Bottas 11th year in F1 as he nears the end of his career. He did at least beat his teammate last year, which might persuade his team to re-sign him.

As for his teammate, 2024 will be Zhou Guanyu 3rd season in F1, and he’ll need to be closer to Bottas next year if he wants to resign with the team as they have another young driver amongst their ranks in Theo Pourchaire.

Pourchaire recently won the 2023 F2 championship and as the teams reserve driver he will be first in line to take one of the seats for 2025.

Ferrari

Both Ferrari drivers are rumoured to be re-signing with the team next year and rightly so. Carlos Sainz was the only non Redbull driver to win a race during the 2023 season and his teammate Charles Leclerc took 5 pole positions throughout the season, often in inferior machinery.

Alpine

As for Alpine, they have two decent drivers under their belt with Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly. Both of them are race winners and they both took a podium during the 2023 season, however their relationship with each other has deteriorated over the season which makes one wonder if they would even want to re-sign with the French team next year.

The unsteady nature of the team might deter other drivers from joining, which would leave Alpine to sign one of there junior drivers. Their most promising talent is probably Victor Martins, who won the F3 title in 2022 and finished this years F2 season 5th in the standings as the highest place rookie.

Haas

2023 was a difficult year for Haas, as they finished last in the standings with just 12 points to their name. 6 of those points came during the Australian grand prix curtesy of Nico Hulkenberg, who not only beat his teammate Magnussen in the standings but also outqualified him during 15 of the 22 races. But at the age of 36, Hulkenberg is nearing the end of his F1 career and probably doesn’t have many years left in him.

It was a poor season for Magnussen who struggled to keep up with his teammate as he took just 3 points all season with a highest finish 10th.

So with one driver nearing retirement and the other not performing as well as the team would like, team boss Guenther Steiner will have to search for potentially 2 new drivers in 2024. The most likely to take one of those seats is Ferrari junior driver Oliver Bearman. The British driver took 4 wins during this years F2 season and drove for Haas during FP1 at the Mexican and Abu Dhabi grand prix last year, impressing the team during both outings.

Alpha Tauri

2023 was a chaotic year for Alpha Tauri. The Italian team started the season with Yuki Tsunoda and rookie driver Nick De Vries, the latter failing to keep up with his more experienced teammate. De Vries would be replaced by Daniel Riccardo mid season, however this change wouldn’t last long as Riccardo broke his wrist and was forced to sit aside for the next few grand prix.

He would be replaced by Liam Lawson who impressed the team, finishing 9th in just his 3rd race to take his first points in F1. But when Riccardo returned, Lawson had to step aside as Riccardo went onto finish a season high 7th at the Mexican grand prix.

Riccardo and Tsunoda will be fighting not just for there own seats at Alpha Tauri next year, but also potentially a seat at Redbull if Perez fails to keep up with Verstappen. They’ll also be under pressure from Lawson as the team try to get him a full time seat for 2025.

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