Esteban Ocon’s confirmed move to the Haas Formula 1 team for the 2025 season came as a surprise—or did it? The French racing driver had already been linked to the American team, though it’s also true that he had been talking to anyone with a known (or tentative) vacancy for next year. And even though Ocon’s departure from Alpine had already been confirmed, an announcement regarding his new team wasn’t expected until later in the year.
Thursday morning’s announcement via social media effectively accelerated the already chaotic game of musical chairs currently going on in F1. Five seats are left for the upcoming season, two of those at high-profile teams: Mercedes and Racing Bulls. RB is admittedly not a front-running team like Mercedes right now, but still represents an important seat given its symbiotic relationship with Red Bull Racing. The other three are Williams, Sauber, and of course, Alpine. The wildcard sixth vacancy remains the second seat at Red Bull should Checo Perez be shown the door before this season’s over.
Very proud to announce I will be joining @HaasF1Team in 2025 on a multi-year deal.
— Esteban Ocon (@OconEsteban) July 25, 2024
I am thrilled to embark on this new chapter in my F1 career and join an ambitious racing team whose spirit, work ethic, and undeniable upward trajectory has really impressed me. I’d like to thank… pic.twitter.com/8ZrYV6Jdz1
Excluding Checo, there are six drivers currently out of contract, meaning they don’t have a seat for 2025 yet: Valtteri Bottas, Kevin Magnussen, Logan Sargeant, Zhou Guanyu, Daniel Ricciardo, and Carlos Sainz. Interestingly enough, Magnussen, whose departure from Haas was confirmed before Ocon’s announcement, complained earlier this week that Sainz’s indecision was “holding up the F1 market.” I hate to break it to Magnussen, but I’d find it difficult for him to land a seat. Doesn’t seem like Sauber, Alpine, Racing Bulls or Mercedes are interested in his services. Williams? There’s always a chance there, but still unlikely.
At this point, Sainz is likely the only driver of those six to stick around next year—maybe Ricciardo too. It’s worth highlighting that competition for these open seats isn’t just among current F1 drivers, but also youngsters looking to graduate from the junior classes. Most specifically, Kimi Antonelli, Victor Martins, and Luke Browning. The trio is well-positioned at their respective squads—Mercedes, Alpine, and Williams—to snatch a seat away from a veteran.
As long as Sainz remains without a team, F1’s silly season will be strong. However, as I mentioned above, Red Bull could shake things up even harder by canning Perez and opening a seat that’d be even more desirable than Mercedes’. That is if anyone is up to the challenge of being Max Verstappen’s teammate—and perhaps more importantly, being strictly a Number Two driver.
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