Senior F1 driver “should be worried” – 2025 has seen once of the least “silly seasons” in Formula One ever. The usual autumn driver market rumour mill has been mostly killed off this year due to the fact most drivers are locked in for 2026. Franco Colapinto’s new Alpine contract was announced in Brazil as in recent weeks he has matched and beaten his far more experienced team mate Pierre Gasly.
In fact prior to the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, the Argentinian had qualified and finished ahead of the Frenchman in four of the previous seven race weekends. Although in interlaces gaily scored a point on Sunday, his first since before the summer break in Spa.
The other drivers uncertain of their F1 futures are to be found in the Red Bull camp, with only Max Verstappen locked down beyond 2025. For much of the year, Dr. Helmut Marko has been championing his next ‘Max Verstappen’ who is racing in F2 this season, although the recent form of Arvid Lindblad has fallen off a cliff in the junior category.
2026 not the year for rookies
Its no longer nailed on the Indo-Swede will get his big break into Formula One in 2026 as Milton Keynes decided another year in international single seater racing may bee best for his career development. Lindblad is a distant seventh in the F2 standings with just 109 points, some 79 behind championship leader Leonardo Fornaroli.
Blooding a rookie in the year when the biggest ever change in the F1 technical regulations comes into force is something none of the other teams have elected to do which may well have saved Yuki Tsunoda’s F1 career, at least for another season. On the whole this seasons rookie F1 drivers have impressed despite each of them struggling at various parts of the season.
Gabriel Bortoletto after a slow start has turned around what was a 37-4 points deficit to his hugely experienced team mate Nico Hulkenberg after the British Grand Prix, to just 24 points but behind the scenes his results are even better. The Italian is 11-10 ahead of the German in qualifying, once famed for his one lap pace and is just 9-11 down in terms of GP finishing places.
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Hulkenberg nốt under pressure
Despite his rookie team mate’s impressive season, Hulkenberg is secure as Kick-Sauber morph into German brand Audi next season. A German driver for the German owned team is something Audi have targeted. However, there is one other senior driver who may be feeling somewhat unsettled given the recent impressive results of the driver on the other side of the garage.
Oliver Bearman has been under the microscope since his stella F1 debut for Ferrari last year in Jeddah. Standing in for the stricken Carlos Sainz, Bearman failed to make Q3 by just half a tenth of a second, then in the race he brought home his SF-24 in seventh place ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris.
The young British driver then substituted for Haas’ Kevin Magnussen in Azerbaijan, as the Dane was forced to sit out the weekend having accumulated too many penalty points. Bearman’s promotion to Haas this year started with a bang. Points in three of the first four race weekends saw him take a lead over his midfield peers but a troublesome run of ten Grand Prix failing to score along with some silly mistakes, saw Bearman fall from grace as Isack Hadjar became the rising star rookie.
Bearman has also found his way to the steward’s office more than he would have liked, his first points coming for overtaking Carlos Sainz under red flag conditions in FP2. The=n at the British Grand Prix the Haas driver appeared to suffer brain fade, when under red flag conditions during the Grand Prix he accelerated into a soaking wet pit lane before putting his car into the barrier and narrowly avoiding another driver.
Bearman now the rising star
Other rookie errors now see Oli on 9 penalty points and at risk of a race ban until he begins to drop the first two on May 22rd next year. Yet having battled through a tough summer, Bearman has been resurgent in the autumn. His run of form since returning from the F1 summer break has seem him overhaul a 19 point deficit to his team mate Esteban Ocon and he now leads the French driver by 40-30 points.
Ocon has had a wretched time since the Dutch Grand Prix scoring just two points in Mexico, whilst Bearman has been bringing his Haas home in the points in five of the last seven Grand Prix. Ex-Haas team boss Guenther Steiner believes Esteban Ocon should be concerned for his future: “I think he should be worried, yeah,” he told the Red Flags podcast.
“I mean, how many times did he get stuck in Q1 now, Esteban? Quite a few, and Ollie goes into Q3? Quite a few times. And it’s not 10th in Q3, it’s eighth in Q3. So, obviously, I mean, when Nico was beaten by Bortoleto, when Hulkenberg was beaten by Bortoleto, nobody talks about Ocon like this, you know. But, it’s even worse than Nico,” concluded the Italian.
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Steiner says Ocon “should be worried”
Guenther was then questioned whether any other of the senior drivers should be worried about their F1 futures. “But is there anybody coming from behind to fill these openings, or are the current ones still the best option, even if they are not 22 anymore?” He asked.
“I mean, how long does Fernando Alonso go on for? He will be 45 at the beginning of 2027, and Lewis will be 42. And if he doesn’t have a good season next year, as I said before, I think he will leave at his own wish. But who is coming from behind? Which big talent?”
Fernando Alonso is rolling the dice on the fact that Aston Martin have recruiters the greatest ever F1 car designer in Adrian Newey and that the arrival of Honda as their works team engine partner will give him one last shot at claiming a third drivers’ championship. Should the dream happen for the Spaniard its likely come 2027 the likes Max Verstappen and others will be in talks with the Silverstone based team and he may have one last crack at the Indy500, the final part missing in his motorsport triple crown.
However, Esteban Ocon should be concerned for his future come 2027, if Bearman continues to eclipse him and there are already rumours Ferrari are lining up the young Brit to replace Lewis Hamilton who could retire at the end of next year.
Red Bull tight lipped over “mystery” Honda upgrade
Red Bull’s weekend in Brazil may have looked like a glorious recovery drive on TV, but behind the scenes, there are repercussions. And while Laurent Mekies refused to spill the beans on just how much pace Max Verstappen’s new Honda unit delivered, he made one thing very clear in Sao Paulo: the 2025 grid is now so compressed that “everythingx… is important.”
No kidding.
The timing couldn’t be more convenient — or more suspicious — as McLaren has already been peering over the fence wondering whether this shiny new power unit counts toward Red Bull’s cost-cap spend. The Race even reported that McLaren brought the issue up directly during Friday’s F1 Commission meeting. A gentle nudge? Hardly. More like a raised eyebrow and a sharpened pencil…. READ MORE
A.J. Hunt is Senior Editor at TJ13, where Andrew oversees editorial standards and contributes to the site’s Formula 1 coverage. A career journalist with experience in both print and digital sports media, Andrew trained in investigative journalism and has written for a range of European sports outlets.
At TJ13, Andrew plays a central role in shaping the site’s output, working across breaking news, analysis, and long-form features. Andrew’s responsibilities include fact-checking, refining editorial structure, and ensuring consistency in reporting across a fast-moving news cycle.
Andrew’s work focuses particularly on the intersection of Formula 1 politics, regulation, and team strategy. Andrew closely follows developments involving the FIA, team leadership, and driver market dynamics, helping to provide context behind the sport’s biggest stories.
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