F1 2025 driver line-up: Who’s on the Formula 1 grid next year?

‘Silly season’ is a common term in F1 referring to the time of year in which many teams announce their driver line-up for the following season.

It usually takes place during the summer as that’s when the market is at its most frantic, with driver changes causing doubt over the futures of others.

But, silly season started a lot earlier this year due to Lewis Hamilton announcing his move to Ferrari for 2025 back in February 2024.

So the driver market is arguably the craziest it has ever been, especially when many other driver contracts were due, or are due, to expire at the end of this season.

With over half of the 2025 grid now confirmed, who has been announced and what does the future behold for other drivers?

Pierre Gasly, Alpine F1 Team

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

Alpine 2025 F1 Drivers

• Pierre Gasly - multi-year contract
• Jack Doohan - contracted until the end of 2025

Alpine endured a difficult start to 2024 as it failed to score any points in the opening five rounds. Although its form then picked up slightly - double points finishes in Canada and Spain for example - Alpine is still currently one of the four worst teams on the grid, highlighting regression for the Enstone squad as it has not finished lower than sixth in the championship since 2016.

Despite that, Pierre Gasly was delighted to sign a multi-year contract extension with the team he joined in 2023, as its willingness to offer a long-term deal was understood to be a key factor.

Another factor that’s believed to have influenced his decision is the impending departure of team-mate Esteban Ocon - his childhood rival with whom he shares a fractious relationship. This came to a head at the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix, when Ocon made a risky move down the inside of Portier on the opening lap, which caused the two Frenchmen to collide.

It angered team management and just eight days later, Alpine announced that Ocon will depart the squad at the end of 2024. Although it is understood that the decision was not based entirely on the Monaco incident, it did play some part.

So, this left an open spot alongside Gasly, and Autosport exclusively revealed that Alpine made a bid for Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz, but he will instead join Williams. 

As a result, the French team elected to promote youngster Jack Doohan, who has been its reserve driver since 2023. The Australian, who is the son of five-time 500cc motorcycling world champion Mick Doohan, joined the Alpine set-up for 2022 after just finishing second in the F3 standings while last year he came third in F2. 

Lance Stroll, Aston Martin AMR24, Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin AMR24

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

Aston Martin 2025 F1 Drivers

• Fernando Alonso - contracted until the end of 2026
• Lance Stroll - contracted until 2025 and beyond

Aston Martin is just one of three teams so far to have announced an unchanged driver line-up for 2025, with that figure expected to go no higher than four constructors. The Silverstone-based squad first confirmed the future of two-time F1 world champion Fernando Alonso, who impressed during his debut season at the team with eight podiums in 2023.

Six of those podiums came in the opening eight rounds though, and Aston Martin has since failed to replicate such form with the fifth-place team now a cut adrift from the top four. This is a long-term project though, one which Alonso is invested in so the 42-year-old signed a two-year extension in April.

Aston Martin then announced in June that Lance Stroll will stay on for 2025, though that was expected given his father Lawrence owns the team. It will be Stroll’s seventh season racing for the squad and his contract length has never been formally disclosed, but that seat is basically his for as long as he and his father want to continue their F1 dream.

Charles Leclerc, Scuderia Ferrari

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Ferrari 2025 F1 Drivers

• Charles Leclerc - multi-year contract
• Lewis Hamilton - multi-year contract

Ferrari caused a stir when it confirmed the shock news that Hamilton will join the team in 2025. The seven-time world champion has a long history of being linked to Ferrari, but it initially seemed like that would only ever be rumours - especially when Hamilton signed a two-year extension with Mercedes during the 2023 season.

The second year of that deal though was understood to only be an option, which has allowed Hamilton to make the switch just one season into his contract. It means his stint at Mercedes will end after 12 campaigns as Hamilton, whose last championship victory came in 2020, cited a need for a new challenge.

That will come alongside Charles Leclerc, who signed a multi-year contract extension in January with the team he joined in 2019. During that time, Leclerc has won six grands prix and has been Ferrari’s leading driver, but it will be interesting to see how the dynamic changes when Hamilton arrives.

Regardless, the goal is clear: to end Red Bull’s dominance and deliver Ferrari, who finished third in the 2023 constructors’ standings, its first championship-winning season since 2008. With a regulation overhaul coming in 2026, that may present Ferrari its biggest opportunity to do so.

Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team, with his engineers in the garage

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

Haas 2025 F1 Drivers

• Oliver Bearman - multi-year contract
• Esteban Ocon - multi-year contract

Haas, who finished bottom of the 2023 standings, will have an all-new driver line-up in 2025 as Nico Hulkenberg first signed with Sauber for next year. 

It was then announced, on Thursday 4 July, that Oliver Bearman will race for Haas in 2025 after impressing in F2 with four victories during his rookie campaign last season.

Bearman's promotion was expected though, as the Ferrari junior has so far competed in six FP1 sessions for Haas, due to its close ties with the Scuderia and the team was left impressed by the 19-year-old. He also performed well on his grand prix debut, as Bearman competed for Ferrari at the 2024 Saudi Arabian GP due to Sainz having appendicitis, and he finished a solid seventh after thwarting late charges from Hamilton and Lando Norris.

Haas then confirmed, two weeks after Bearman's announcement, that Kevin Magnussen will depart at the end of this season after struggling to match the form of Hulkenberg. 

Magnussen's replacement will be Ocon, who will become the first grand prix winner to ever drive for Haas after signing a multi-year contract with the team.

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, Oscar Piastri, McLaren MCL38, in the pit lane

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

McLaren 2025 F1 Drivers

• Lando Norris - contracted beyond the end of 2026
• Oscar Piastri - contracted until at least the end of 2026

McLaren’s level of improvement since the beginning of last year has been remarkable, as it was sixth after eight rounds in 2023 before mid-season upgrades helped it to finish fourth with nine podiums and a sprint race victory in Qatar.

The British outfit has carried that form into 2024 with victories in Miami and Budapest amid a run of 10 consecutive podiums, which leaves McLaren as arguably Red Bull’s biggest threat. Both drivers have contributed to McLaren’s form so will remain as team-mates for a third consecutive season in 2025.

Oscar Piastri was the first to commit his future to McLaren, as the 23-year-old signed an extension towards the end of his impressive rookie season with his deal running until at least 2026.

There was a lot more chatter over Norris’ future though, whose previous contract lasted until the end of 2025. Many wondered if McLaren could actually help Norris in challenging for the drivers’ championship, but the Briton has full faith as he signed an extension which lasts beyond 2026.

George Russell, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team, 1st position, on the podium with his trophy and Champagne

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Mercedes 2025 F1 Drivers

• George Russell - contracted until the end of 2025
• TBC

August 2023 saw Mercedes announce that Hamilton and George Russell had both signed contract extensions which run until the end of 2025. Next season will be Russell’s fourth at Mercedes - the team he joined as a junior in 2017 and clinched his maiden grand prix victory with.

There is a constant discussion over who his next team-mate will be though, given Hamilton’s shock decision to leave. The leading candidate is 17-year-old Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who is regarded as one of the biggest talents in motorsport having already won four single-seater championships.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has also spoken publicly about how much the team believes in its junior driver, but there are still question marks over Antonelli’s readiness to compete at the front given his tender age.

Max Verstappen was another driver to have been linked with the seat, but in the build-up to June’s Austrian GP he confirmed he will remain at Red Bull next season. Regardless, Wolff wants to take his time to decide as Mercedes is more focussed on improving its car, which has won just two grands prix since the Silver Arrows claimed an eighth consecutive constructors’ title in 2021.

Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

RB 2025 F1 Drivers

• Yuki Tsunoda - contracted until the end of 2025
• TBC

Yuki Tsunoda is set to remain at the Faenza-based squad for a fifth consecutive season after signing a contract extension into 2025 with RB. This followed an impressive start to 2024, as the long-term Red Bull and Honda protege consistently beat team-mate Daniel Ricciardo and scored over half of the team’s points tally.

That led to hope amongst some that Tsunoda would finally receive a promotion to Red Bull for next season, but Sergio Perez signing an extension in June despite a run of disappointing results shut that door.

All hope might not be lost though, as there is still doubt over Perez's future despite his contract extension. But, should he be dropped, then it is still possible that Red Bull promotes Ricciardo, as the eight-time grand prix winner has improved as of late with points finishes in Canada, Austria and Belgium. 

So there are a lot of question marks over RB's driver line-up in 2025. That's also because reserve driver Liam Lawson, who drove five grands prix for the team in 2023 - then known as AlphaTauri - is looking for a seat in F1 after impressing during that run last year. 

Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing, congratulates pole man Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, in Parc Ferme after Qualifying

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

Red Bull 2025 F1 Drivers

• Max Verstappen - contracted until the end of 2028
• Sergio Perez - contracted until the end of 2026

Although Red Bull has two drivers under contract for 2025, there is still the possibility of change at the world champions. 

That’s because Perez has been under huge scrutiny for his poor results, both pre and post-contract extension, as he scored less than half of Verstappen’s points tally in 2023 while 2024 has not been much better either. Team boss Christian Horner said that he hoped Perez's new deal would help improve the situation, but it has done the opposite - so, it looks like a battle between the Mexican, Tsunoda, Ricciardo and Lawson for that second Red Bull seat in 2025.

Should Perez retain his seat, then he will have a fifth season as Verstappen's team-mate. The two have enjoyed a very successful period together, as Verstappen looks set to claim his fourth straight drivers’ title in 2024 while Red Bull is going for its third consecutive constructors’ crown.

But, there was also some doubt over Verstappen’s future despite him being contracted until the end of 2028. That doubt emerged during Red Bull’s early 2024 management war - which followed an investigation into Horner’s behaviour towards a female employee - and how Verstappen strongly backed motorsport adviser Helmut Marko, whose future at the time was unclear.

Nico Hulkenberg, Haas F1 Team

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Sauber 2025 F1 Drivers

• Nico Hulkenberg - multi-year contract
• TBC

Sauber is currently working through major changes, as it is set to become the Audi F1 team from 2026. One of the first things that CEO Andreas Seidl did in preparation for the switch was to sign Hulkenberg on a multi-year contract, the 36-year-old with whom he won the 2015 Le Mans 24 Hours at Porsche.

Although Hulkenberg being German is understood to be one of the factors in Audi wanting him, it also follows a string of impressive performances at Haas in which he has been its leading driver. Sauber was keen to partner Hulkenberg with Sainz in 2025, but that is no longer an option.

So, that now presents an opportunity for Valtteri Bottas, whose contract expires at the end of 2024, to remain with the team he joined in 2022. The 34-year-old was one of many parties waiting on Sainz to decide his next move, before clarifying his own future.

That means it is very unlikely that Zhou Guanyu will contend a fourth season in F1, having failed to impress much during his three-year stint with the Swiss outfit. Regardless of who Hulkenberg’s team-mate is though, wholesale improvements are needed at the team which finished next-to-bottom in the 2023 standings and so far has zero points in 2024.

Alex Albon, Williams Racing

Photo by: Williams

Williams 2025 F1 Drivers

• Alex Albon - multi-year contract
• Carlos Sainz - multi-year contract

Williams team boss James Vowles publicly stated in June that Sainz was the British outfit’s number one target and the squad finally got its man. Early on, the likelihood of Sainz joining Williams was strong but Alpine’s late bid cast doubt over that.

Alpine's offer was not enough though, and on Monday 29 July Williams announced that Sainz will join for "2025, 2026 and beyond". 

Sainz will partner fellow Red Bull junior graduate Alex Albon, who signed a multi-year extension in May as his previous contract was due to expire at the end of 2025. That was also a major coup for Williams, as Albon has impressed since joining in 2022 which made him a left-field player in next year's driver market - but the 28-year-old spoke of his faith in the team’s long-term project, so signed the deal.

This all means that Logan Sargeant's F1 career appears to be coming to an end now, as the 23-year-old is lacking interest from elsewhere having scored just one point since joining the series in 2023 - IndyCar is his most likely destination.