F1 rookie with just a five race contract for 2025

Formula One land is often a place of wild contradictions and surprises as Red Bull Racing have discovered this year. The all dominant world champions who smashed records almost weekly last year are now just third in the constructors’ title race.

Further, for the first time in F1 history, the teams entered the 2024 season with the exact same drivers who completed at the previous Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Now it appears just two teams will start next year with the same driver lineup.

McLaren have been excluded from this year’s extended silly season, kicked off by Lewis Hamilton before a wheel turned in anger as he announced his move to Ferrari before round one in Bahrain. With Piastri and Norris on long term contracts, the team has even ‘sold on’ its star academy driver, Gabriel Bortoleto, who will race for Sauber next year.

 

 

 

Drivers leaving F1 this year

Aston Martin entered the year with trepidation as rumours swirled  that Fernando Alonso was sniffing around for the Mercedes’ seat left vacant by Hamilton. Then the Spaniard was known to have enquired about a Red Bull seat to replace Sergio Perez.

With the doors at the top teams remaining firmly closed, Fernando quickly committed to remaining with Aston Martin and had a new multi-year deal in place by the early days of April.

Drivers set to leave F1 this winter include Valtteri Bottas and his Sauber team mate Zhou Guangyu who have been replaced by rookie Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg. Kevin Magnussen’s come back is over too, he leaves the Haas F1 team making way for Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman.

Alpine too have a rookie joining their F1 lineup. In the end the team in the end were forced to move quickly, announcing Jack Doohan before his option could be taken up by another team – the memory of the Piastri saga still front and centre.

Why Binotto ditched Schumacher

 

 

 

The Colapinto bandwagon

Yet one driver who has impressed this year, as it stands will not be on the grid come Australia next season. Franco Colapinto was parachuted in the Williams seat following the sacking of Logan Sargeant. Although the junior driver knew this was never a full time option, given the arrival of Carlos Sainz come the new year.

This year saw two driver mid-season changes as Daniel Ricciardo and Logan Sargeant were replaced by Liam Lawson and Williams’ academy driver Franco Colapinto and it has been the young Argentinian who has turned the collective head of the paddock with drives since Monza, well beyond his years.

Franco finished eighth in just his second grand Prix weekend, scoring a valuable two points for his team, something Sargeant had failed to do across 36 places. Logan had a best finish of tenth and a single point in his career, but only after two aces ahead were disqualified for having worn planks underneath the car, beyond the limit set by the FIA.

A tenth place finish in Austin has almost cemented Colapinto’s future as a Formula One driver, but with Carlos Sainz arriving at the Grove based team in January, that particular door is closed for at least the next two years.

Hamilton has his say on Bottas future

 

 

 

$20m on the table for F1 rookie

Since Franco’s debut for Williams, team boss James Vowles has eulogised over his young driver’s talent suggesting at the USGP he would like to see him on loan with another team. Sauber-Audi were cited by Vowles as a potential opportunity, although this week Mattia Binotto announced the team would be fielding McLaren’s academy driver, Gabriel Bortoleto.

There remain possibilities for Franco in the Red Bull racing family given uncertainty over Sergio Perez’s future. The Mexican has a contract for 2025, but also has failed to deliver on a performance clause which affords Red Bull the opportunity to cancel his deal.

Should Red Bull decide on Colapinto, a loan structured deal has already been dismissed, the the world champions wanting to buy out his contract. A sum of $20m has been mooted, although nothing concrete has yet emerged.

This week Williams received a curve ball when reports in La Gazzetta linked the Argentinian with the Flavio Briaotre led Alpine project. These rumours have been quickly dismissed in certain quarters of the F1 media as Alpine have already announced Jack Doohan for the seat vacated by Ocon.

F1 driver association SLAMS FIA president

 

 

 

Doohan has just a 5 race contract with Alpine

Yet another publication, F1-insider, now reveals that Jack Doohan has signed a deal which guarantees him just five races in 2025, as Alpine the team prefer to give the Australian a limited probation period, rather than a full season carte blanch. Doohan has Briatore as his manager which makes the conditional nature of the Australian’s deal with Alpine more believable as Briatore cant’ be seen as plundering the very asset he has been tasked to save.

Mid-season driver changes are never ideal and with Logan Sargeant failing to impress across his eleven outings this year along with Daniel Ricciardo completing 75% of the scheduled events. Alpine have clearly made the decision they will not commit themselves to an ‘unknown’ for a year, as the team battles to return to join the leading pack.

This could open the door for Franco Colapinto who will have proved in his nine races this year, he is worthy of his place amongst the world’s elite 20 drivers. Alpine’s decision to award Doohan just a five race contract may be the answer F1 has been looking for in the pursuit of an ever improved ladder into the pinnacle of motorsport.

Alonso named as Perez replacement

 

 

 

A quarter of the F1 grid “new faces”

Once upon a time in F1 land, the drivers did not count each race tally of points towards the championship, but dropped their worst results from the season. Could it be Formula One returns to a similar scoring system, which would allow the teams to offer their young drivers a full weekend outing in an F1 car?

Maybe each team should field a rookie, for at least three full rounds of the year, although of course each F1 promoter wants the biggest stars at their event.

The FIA dismissed the recent proposal to hold a race for the junior drivers following this aye’r finale at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Over the course of 2024 and 2025, Formula One will have welcomed Liam Lawson, Franco Colapinto, Oliver Bearman, Kimi Antonelli and  Gabriel Bortoleto, whilst a number of the old guard are sloping off into retirement.

The longevity of the modern F1 driver is problematic for those yet climbing the ladder, but in two years flat now we will see, a quarter of the grid which are fresh new faces.

Perez reflects on “one of the best F1 weekends”

 

 

 

 

Audi sell out their F1 investment

A nigh on ten year project instigated by the FIA to increase the number of manufacturers in Formula One lies in smoking ruins. Porsche and Audi were early early contributors to the FIA working party looking to make the sport more attractive to new OEM’s.

Reading behind the lines of Christian Horner’s comments when the talks broke down with Porsche, the German manufacturer had wanted to buy a 50% stake in the Red Bull Racing group of companies. The Red Bull boss talked of his team needing to retain the ability to make quick decisions, in a likely contrast to the corporate style of the disparate boards amongst the VAG group.

With Porsche out of the running, Audi continued with their intra-company rivalry and set about buying up the Sauber group of companies… READ MORE