Last Updated on March 15 2024, 3:55 pm

With just two rounds of the 2024 season season completed, the so called “silly season” is already under way. This is primarily because Lewis Hamilton announced he would be leaving hi life long sponsor Mercedes at the end of this year to end his career as a Ferrari driver.

Add into the mix thirteen of the current drivers are out of contract for next season, and the F1 paddock is set for one of the more interesting shakeups in driver line up seen for many years. This comes on the back of a Formula One first, where all the drivers at the final Grand Prix last season retained their current drives for this year’s competition.

 

 

 

New boys on the block

Also fanning the flames of speculation is the fact that Liam Lawson who deputised so well for the injured Daniel Ricciardo last year is a shoe in for a drive in the Racing Bulls team. Whether Ricciardo or Tsunoda are dropped is to be decided, but neither have made convincing cases for them to replace Sergio Perez should his contract with Red Bull Racing not be renewed.

One driver who is in contract until 2028 is also now a potential for a move since he dropped hints if the current Red Bull saga ends with Dr. Helmut Marko leaving the team, Max suggested in jeddah, then he could be off aswell.

Another shoe in as a rookie next season is Ole Bearman after his stunning debut for Ferrari last time, standing in for the stricken Carlos Sainz who was rushed top hospital with a case of appendicitis. The young British driver was with a mere 0.036 seconds of knocking Lewis Hamilton out of final qualifying and converted his starting position of P11 to a P7 at the chequered flag, collecting six points along the way.

Its usual for a Ferrari academy driver such as Bearman to be placed in one of the Scuderia customer teams, although with Audi having bought out the remaining shares in Sauber, its unclear whether that kind of arrangement with Ferrari remains.

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Certain drivers will fade away

Early season form would suggest Bearman might get a better offer than just a Haas F1 seat and the Ferrari would lose their young protege to potentially, Mercedes, Red Bull or Aston Martin, which offer a far better prospect for the young driver to compete for and win races.

Its difficult to know exactly how all this will pan out, but there are drivers who give the impression their time in F1 is coming to an end. Kevin Magnussen despite driving heroically slowly in Saudi to give his team mate a point has struggled since Nico Hülkenberg replaced the failed Mick Schumacher, and should Bearman accept a drive with Haas F1, it is surely the Dane who would be on his way.

What should be resolved fairly quickly is whether the waring parties at Red Bull can kiss and make up, or not, and if not Verstappen will be first on every team’s list of wanted drivers for next season. Next up will be the ageing but still remarkably quick and motivated, Fernando Alonso.

As soon as the dust had settled from Lewis’ big announcement, the Spaniard was questioned about his future by media at the Bahrain Grand Prix. His reply was somewhat ambiguous.

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Alonso considering his future

“I will not drive a few more years in Formula 1 just to drive and to have fun. I’m not that kind of driver, I’m not that kind of person,” said Fernando.

“If I want to keep driving it’s because I know starting from myself that I can give 200 per cent to the team on and off track, simulator work, marketing work, delivering the results on track. So I am preparing for that in the eventuality that I want to keep racing and, if I want to keep racing, let’s see what the options are.”

So the hint Fernando could yet retie at the end of the year was clear, yet Alonso said his first priority would be to have a conversation with Aston Martin.

“They gave me the opportunity last year to join this organisation,” said the two times world champion, ”which I’m very proud to be part of. 

Hamilton “not putting in the effort”

 

 

 

Alonso boss hints at Mercedes move

“With the new factory, with everything that is going on, there is a great future in this team and I want to explore every possibility to race for many years here.”

Yet the elephant in the room was a possible move for the Spanish champ to replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes. This had been instigated by Alonso’s long term friend and manager, Flavio Briatore, who had posted a picture of himself having lunch with Toto Wolff in Monaco on the day the Aston Martin car for this year was launched.

Mercedes are keen not to lose their protege Kimi Antonelli as they did Max Verstappen many years ago and Wolff did hint when revealing his thoughts following Lewis’ bombshell announcement, “Maybe it’s a chance to do something bold,”  when asked who he would replace his star driver with. Clearly a reference to bringing in a junior driver with just one season of experience in international single seater racing.

Yet Antonelli may not be ready after just a year in F2 and on that basis Mercedes may chose to recruit a stop gap experienced driver for one year. On the other hand, Alonso bailed out of Alpine when all they offered him was a single year contract and so its questionable if he would accept such a deal even if from the former world championship Brackley based squad.

Red Bull driver claims he had a Ferrari offer

 

 

 

Aston boss in dark over his driver’s future

Aston Martin team boss admits to being in the dark over the future of Fernando who last year scored two third of the team’s final points tally.

“It is no secret that he, first of all, wants to decide for himself what he wants to do,” says Mike Krack.

“We want to continue working with Fernando. The most important thing is that we give him a quick car so he believes in this project, believes in this team. Everything else, we will have to discuss over the weeks to come.”

Yet Krack admits it is no shoe in that Alonso will stay with the Silverstone based team next season, recognising his talent will be in high demand.

F1 rookie sensation chased by these teams

 

 

 

Fernando may end with little choice

“It is clear that a driver of that calibre is attractive for everybody. That is clear. But we will try to keep him. We have seen that, last year already when he joined, it’s not only what he brings in terms of driving talent and race craft – he brings this extra drive, push and motivation to everybody.”

“He leads by example, from the first day, with his mood from the first moment in the morning to late at night. It is exemplary. This is something that is infecting the whole team and it is something that you want to preserve.”

In all probability Fernando Alonso will explore the possibility of a race with Red Bull before turning his mind to other suitors, which would set up the eye watering prospect of Verstappen and the Spaniard as team mates. Alonso would even probably take a one year deal for that opportunity, regardless of him in reality preferring greater security.

Failing this, if Aston Martin can prove they can compete and beat Mercedes, Fernando is better preferring ‘the devil he knows,’ than courting Mercedes who proved their contract offers are non negotiable.

Lewis Hamilton wanted a five year deal, and got a one year contract with the option of a second year which he has now declined. Mercedes are unlikely to bend to a two year demand from Fernando, which after all the ‘who ha’ will most likely means Alonso will remain where he is.

Steiner’s stark admission about time at Haas F1

 

 

Update: Horner’s female accuser breaks silence, takes legal action

In the fast-moving and competitive world of Formula 1, the Red Bull Racing team is embroiled in a controversy which goes beyond the race track. At the heart of the dispute is an employee’s complaint against team principal Christian Horner, a matter that has sparked widespread debate and disillusionment among observers and insiders alike.

Christian Horner, the team principal of Red Bull Racing, has found himself at the centre of a major investigation into allegations of ‘inappropriate behaviour’ with an employee. The internal investigation was launched after allegations were made by a team member, putting Horner under the microscope and casting a shadow over his leadership of one of Formula One’s most successful teams…… READ MORE.