F1 driver contracts: How long are all the drivers' contracts?

The 2025 F1 grid is starting to take shape after more than half of the drivers entered this season with their contracts expiring at the end of the campaign. 

Many extensions have since been signed but various drivers are still battling for their futures in F1 beyond the end of 2024.

So, when does the contract of each driver expire?

Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes - Contract finishing at the end of 2024

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team, arrives at track

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

Ahead of the 2024 F1 season, Lewis Hamilton shocked many by announcing he would be leaving Mercedes at the end of the year. The seven-time world champion activated an exit clause within his contract, giving him just one more season with the silver arrows before joining Ferrari in 2025.

The news came four months after the Briton signed a contract to stay with Mercedes until the end of 2025. This had dispelled the speculation that Hamilton was looking for a shock switch to a rival team, which had begun emerging at the 2023 Monaco Grand Prix.

Hamilton previously signed two contract extensions in a single year in 2021, putting pen to paper on a one-year deal for that campaign, before sealing his place through to the end of 2023. He joined Mercedes in 2013 and had previously stressed that he was fully committed to the team, saying in August 2023: “Obviously in the summer I signed, and obviously, at that time, I saw my future with Mercedes. But an opportunity came up at the end of the year, and I decided to take it.”

Carlos Sainz - Ferrari - Contract finishing at the end of 2024

Carlos Sainz, Scuderia Ferrari

Photo by: Jake Grant / Motorsport Images

Carlos Sainz will leave Ferrari at the end of 2024, as the team is replacing him with Hamilton. The Spaniard joined the Scuderia in 2021 following six years of racing for Toro Rosso, Renault and McLaren, where he finished as high as sixth in the championship.

Sainz previously said he was content to wait until the 2023-24 off-season before starting contract negotiations with Ferrari, however those plans were scuppered when Hamilton was signed. It was then confirmed, five months after the Hamilton move was announced, that Sainz will drive for Williams in 2025 as the three-time grand prix winner has signed a multi-year contract despite interest from Audi - currently known as Sauber - and Alpine. 

Esteban Ocon - Alpine - Contract finishing at the end of 2024

Esteban Ocon, Alpine F1 Team

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

Esteban Ocon left his position as a long-term Mercedes junior when he signed for the team then known as Renault in 2020. A year on he agreed to his current deal, which has tied him to the rebranded Alpine squad until the end of the 2024 season.   

Just a month after signing said extension, Ocon scored his first - and to date, only - F1 win with his victory in the chaotic 2021 Hungarian GP. Ocon has also scored two other podiums: second at the 2020 Sakhir GP and third at the 2023 Monaco GP.

Despite his achievements with the Enstone-based squad, it was announced in June that Ocon will leave Alpine at the end of 2024 and he is set to join Haas in 2025 on a multi-year contract.

Logan Sargeant - Williams - Contract finishing at the end of 2024

Logan Sargeant, Williams Racing

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

Once the 2023 season ended, Williams announced that it would keep Logan Sargeant for 2024. The American joined Williams as a junior driver in 2021 -  following the British-based team being bought by US private investment firm Dorilton Capital from its founding family in 2020.  

At the 2022 United States GP, then-Williams team principal Jost Capito announced that Sargeant would be promoted to F1 for 2023 if he secured the necessary superlicence points, which he did, via four FP1 outings and fourth in that year’s F2 championship.   

Despite a difficult rookie season where he scored just one point, Williams boss James Vowles said: “Logan has demonstrated immense skill whilst under the pressure of the world stage, making him a perfect fit for our team. We have great confidence in his abilities and believe that together we can achieve even greater success in the upcoming season.”

But, the 23-year-old has failed to kick on in 2024, scoring zero points in the opening 14 rounds before the summer break. This led to Williams replacing him with Sainz for 2025, leaving Sargeant without an F1 seat for next year amid talks of a move to IndyCar.

Daniel Ricciardo - RB - Contract finishing at the end of 2024

Daniel Ricciardo, Visa Cash App RB F1 Team

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Daniel Ricciardo rejoined the team he raced for towards the beginning of his F1 career in 2012-13 (he made his debut with HRT in 2011) ahead of the 2023 Hungarian GP, replacing the underperforming Nyck de Vries. 

It was part of Ricciardo’s plan to receive a promotion back to sister squad Red Bull - who he won seven grands prix for from 2014 to 2018 - as the future of Sergio Perez has constantly come under question. 

Ricciardo entered 2024 with his RB contract expiring at the end of the year, however just one points finish in the opening eight rounds seemingly ended his chances of rejoining Red Bull as Perez signed an extension.

Perez has performed poorly in the six grands prix since the extension though, while Ricciardo has three points finishes and is yet to sign with any team for 2025.

Zhou Guanyu - Sauber - Contract finishing at the end of 2024

Zhou Guanyu, Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

The Sauber-run Alfa Romeo team signed F2’s Zhou Guanyu alongside Valtteri Bottas on a one-year deal for 2022, after it dropped Antonio Giovinazzi at the end of 2021 while Kimi Raikkonen retired.

Zhou then received an extension to cover the 2023 season ahead of the 2022 Singapore GP, while he effectively had the same situation 12 months later when a 2024 deal was confirmed on the eve of the Marina Bay Street race. 

But another extension is seemingly unlikely as Sauber - who will become the Audi F1 Team in 2026 - confirmed in April the signing of Nico Hulkenberg for 2025. Who his team-mate will be is not yet known, but Bottas is currently outperforming Zhou, who has not signed a deal elsewhere.

Valtteri Bottas - Sauber - Contract finishing at the end of 2024

Valtteri Bottas, Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

Bottas signed for the Swiss outfit on a “multi-year” deal when his five-year stint at Mercedes ended as it replaced him with George Russell for 2022. 

That contract will expire at the end of the 2024 season, and Bottas believes that if he agrees to another deal in 2025, then he is likely to have earned an Audi seat for 2026.

He said: “From my understanding, they're going to make decisions of the years ahead early [this] year. So not yet. I'm going to have those discussions in the first quarter of [this] year.”  

Bottas was regularly re-signed on single-year deals during his time at Mercedes and is known to relish his long-term future in F1 being secure. He has already stated his desire to continue racing for his current team when it becomes Audi in 2026. 

Kevin Magnussen - Haas - Contract finishing at the end of 2024

Kevin Magnussen, Haas F1 Team, watches from the garage

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

Haas dropped Kevin Magnussen and his then team-mate Romain Grosjean at the end of 2020, as it moved towards F1’s 2022 regulation changes with two rookies. One of those was Nikita Mazepin, who lost his seat after one season due to the sanctions imposed following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. That also caused Haas to terminate its title sponsorship agreement with his father’s company, and just four days later, Magnussen was rehired on a multi-year deal.   

This was set to run out at the end of 2023, but Magnussen earned an extension as part of Haas’s now settled future - following its late-2022 deal with title sponsor MoneyGram - with his contract expiring at the end of 2024. 

But Magnussen has been regularly beaten by team-mate Hulkenberg leading to Haas not extending his contract for 2025. The American squad will race with an all-new line-up of Ocon and rookie Oliver Bearman next year, while Magnussen is yet to confirm his next step which will most likely come outside of F1.

Nico Hulkenberg - Haas - Contract finishing at the end of 2024

Nico Hulkenberg, Haas F1 Team, talks to the media

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

Hulkenberg will join the Sauber F1 Team once his current Haas contract expires at the end of the 2024 season. This means the 36-year-old will return to the Swiss outfit, who he drove for in the 2013 season finishing 10th in the championship. 

He has joined the team on a multi-year basis until at least the end of 2026, meaning Hulkenberg will become an Audi works driver after impressing during his two seasons with Haas. Hulkenberg said: “The prospect of competing for Audi is something very special. When a German manufacturer enters Formula 1 with such determination, it is a unique opportunity”. 

George Russell - Mercedes - Contract finishing at the end of 2025

George Russell, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team

Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images

Russell became a Mercedes F1 driver for the 2022 season, with the team stating he was signed to a long-term contract. Although there has never been any official confirmation of how long the Briton was committed, the deal was understood to run until at least the end of 2024. 

However, news broke at the 2023 Italian GP that both he and Hamilton had agreed terms to remain with Mercedes until the end of 2025, which would have extended their partnership as team-mates to a total of four years had the 39-year-old not decided to jump ship to Ferrari. 

Russell, who was a Mercedes junior driver from early 2017 and through his three-year stint with Williams commencing his F1 career in 2019, is well-regarded at the Brackley-based squad for his precise feedback and technical knowledge. He has won two grands prix with Mercedes, his first coming at the 2022 Sao Paulo GP. Russell is also the director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association.

Yuki Tsunoda - RB - Contract finishing at the end of 2025

Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Yuki Tsunoda is the most recent driver to be promoted to F1 full-time from Red Bull’s junior programme as he has raced for RB since 2021, when it was then known as AlphaTauri. He signed one-year contract extensions in 2022, 2023 and 2024, and he has done so again to cover the 2025 campaign.

The Japanese driver has a reputation for wild, rapid driving, but he lacks consistency and has had several big crashes following unforced errors. He was also required to relocate to Italy from the UK (he previously lived near Red Bull’s Milton Keynes factory to drive its F1 simulator) to improve his training and work closer with AlphaTauri. But 2024 has seen big improvements from Tsunoda, who has already scored more points than the previous two years.

Lance Stroll - Aston Martin - Contracted for 2025 and beyond

Lance Stroll, Aston Martin F1 Team

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

Stroll has raced for the team now known as Aston Martin since 2019, when it was rebranded as Racing Point following the consortium headed by his father Lawrence buying what remained of the Force India squad in 2018. In moving across, Stroll left the Williams team where he had started his career in 2017.  

Given his status as the Aston chairman’s son, it has never been formally disclosed how long Stroll’s contract is with the green team. His original arrangement was labelled as a “long-term deal”, while in June this year it was announced that Stroll had signed an extension “for 2025 and beyond”.

Although he has three career podiums and a pole, his F1 future is often discussed given his enhanced ‘pay driver’ tag in his team-owning-family status. This speculation intensified with Aston’s major performance improvement in 2023, where Stroll finished 132 points behind team-mate Fernando Alonso in the championship. His future is nevertheless secure so long as he and his father want to continue their F1 dream.

Sergio Perez - Red Bull - Contract finishing at the end of 2026

Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Perez is contracted to Red Bull until the end of 2026, after signing an extension in June as his previous deal expired this year. The deal was announced amid speculation around the six-time grand prix winner’s future, as Perez had a mixed start to 2024 and was 62 points behind team-mate Max Verstappen after eight rounds despite six podiums, two of which were in a sprint.

That also came after a disappointing 2023 for Perez who, despite finishing a career-best of second in the championship, was 290 points behind Verstappen who scored over double his points tally.

Perez’s form has not improved since the extension either, which led to concern that Red Bull could drop him mid-season due to performance-related clauses in his contract. But, Autosport revealed that Perez will complete 2024 at Red Bull, though the situation for next year is still not clear.

Fernando Alonso - Aston Martin - Contract finishing at the end of 2026

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin F1 Team

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

Aston Martin announced in April that Alonso had signed another “multi-year contract” with the team that will run until the end of 2026. This follows his previous deal which was due to expire at the end of this year and team principal Mike Krack believes "we have built a strong working relationship over the last 18 months and we share the same determination to see this project succeed".

During the 2022 summer break, Alonso shocked F1 by abandoning his previous contract talks with Alpine and joining Aston Martin following Sebastian Vettel’s retirement. Alonso started life at Aston Martin brilliantly by scoring six podiums in the opening eight grands prix of 2023, but his form has somewhat tailed off since with Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes now all quicker than the Silverstone-based squad.

Alex Albon - Williams - Multi-year contract until at least 2026

Alex Albon, Williams Racing at the Press Conference

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

Alex Albon was linked to various top teams following Ferrari’s Hamilton announcement, but such speculation ended in May when the 28-year-old signed a multi-year extension with Williams that will run until at least the end of 2026. 

Albon said: “This is a long-term project that I really believe in and want to play a key role in which is why I have signed a multi-year contract.”

It all could have turned out so differently for Albon, who was set to race in the 2018-19 Formula E season for Nissan. But, the Thai-Briton was released from his contract when he rejoined the Red Bull family - he was previously part of it for his 2012 campaign in Formula Renault - to replace Brendon Hartley at  Toro Rosso, now RB, in 2019. 

Midway through that year, he received a promotion to replace the underperforming Pierre Gasly at Red Bull. But Albon also struggled alongside Verstappen at the main squad and he was dropped for Perez at the end of 2020. This left him as Red Bull’s reserve driver for 2021, before making a comeback with Williams in 2022 where Albon initially joined on a one-year deal.

Albon made an impressive start, so he signed another Williams contract during that year’s summer break which was due to expire at the end of 2024.

Oscar Piastri - McLaren - Multi-year contract until at least 2026

Oscar Piastri, McLaren F1 Team, talks to the press

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

After Alonso announced his shock departure from Alpine, the Enstone squad was further wounded because then reserve driver Piastri was soon confirmed as a McLaren driver for 2023 on a "multi-year" deal.   

But, in the September of his rookie season, McLaren secured the Australian to a new long-term contract after an impressive start to his F1 career. Piastri’s deal keeps him at McLaren until at least the end of 2026 and since signing it the 23-year-old has become a grand prix winner following his victory at the 2024 Hungarian GP.

Pierre Gasly - Alpine - Multi-year contract until at least 2026

Pierre Gasly, Alpine F1 Team

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

Gasly was announced as an Alpine driver for 2023 at the 2022 Japanese GP – a move which ended that year’s driver market saga. The 28-year-old had a solid debut season with the French squad as he finished 11th in the championship, also scoring a podium in Zandvoort.

This year has not been as kind due to Alpine’s drop in performance, yet Gasly was still happy to sign a contract extension which takes him through until at least the end of 2026.

Gasly started his F1 career with Toro Rosso for the final five of six grands prix in 2017 before driving the full season the following year. The Frenchman then received a promotion for 2019 to replace Ricciardo at Red Bull, but his time there lasted just 12 races due to consistently struggling to match the pace of Verstappen. 

This demoted him back to the Faenza-based squad, where he spent the next three-and-a-half years with Gasly’s highlight being his victory at the 2021 Italian GP. He was then confirmed to race for the rebranded AlphaTauri squad in 2023, but an agreement was reached that meant his Alpine offer could be accepted so Gasly finally left the Red Bull family for good.

Lando Norris - McLaren - Contracted to beyond the end of 2026

Lando Norris, McLaren

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

Lando Norris has committed his F1 future to McLaren in an unspecified contract extension which will run past the 2026 season. The 24-year-old signed that deal despite his previous contract not expiring until the end of 2025, but there were question marks over Norris’ future due to McLaren’s midfield status.

That didn’t bother Norris though, as he signed this current contract before the 2024 season even began thus ending any speculation. Since Norris extended his contract, McLaren has emerged as one of F1’s leading outfits and it is battling Red Bull for the 2024 constructors’ championship in a year where both of its drivers claimed their maiden grand prix victories.

Max Verstappen – Red Bull – Contract finishing at the end of 2028 

Winner Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB19

Photo by: Red Bull Racing

Red Bull’s second world champion signed his current deal barely three months after sealing his first title at the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP, which should keep Verstappen tied to his current team until the end of 2028. He said after winning that race: “I think they know I love them. And I hope we can do this for 10-15 years together. There's no reason to change ever. I want to stay with them for the rest of my life.”  

It is not yet known what Verstappen will do beyond 2028 though, due to his desire to test other areas of motorsport like the Le Mans 24 Hours. However, in recent months Verstappen’s future before 2028 has also come under question due to Red Bull’s early 2024 management war, which followed an investigation into team principal Christian Horner’s behaviour towards a female employee.

Verstappen strongly backed motorsport adviser Helmut Marko, whose future at the time was unclear, but the 26-year-old has since confirmed he will stay at Red Bull in 2025.

Charles Leclerc – Ferrari – Multi-year contract 

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

Photo by: Ferrari

Charles Leclerc signed another contract extension with Ferrari on 25 January 2024, however the Scuderia did not disclose the exact length of his deal. It is expected though that Leclerc will remain with Ferrari for the 2026 regulations change. 

His contract extension was a long time coming after the two sides had “slowly” started talking in the summer of 2023 about a third new contract of the Monegasque’s stint in red. It came after Ferrari had identified him as its immediate new star in 2019 and not incumbent Vettel, who was effectively dumped just a few months later.  

Leclerc waited patiently through Ferrari’s following fallow years in 2020 and 2021 – shining where he could around his team’s engine power deficit in those years – before leading its title charge after the rules reset for 2022.

That challenge fell apart through a series of team and driver mistakes and poor reliability, while 2023 was really no better for either Ferrari or Leclerc. However, there have been some improvements in 2024 as Leclerc claimed an emotional victory at the Monaco GP.