There’s also Gabriel Bortoleto, 20, who joins the Sauber team after he won the Formula 2 championship. Isack Hadjar, 20, the runner-up for last year’s F2 title, will race for Racing Bulls. Oliver Bearman, 19, joins the American Haas team, a Ferrari customer. Liam Lawson, 23, will race for Red Bull, securing his dream promotion after having raced on and off for the junior team. And Jack Doohan, 22, will drive for Alpine.
Yet others are waiting in the wings to race as early as this year, most notably Franco Colapinto, whom Alpine tapped in the offseason to be a reserve driver, leading to questions about whether it’s vetting him for Doohan’s seat.
It’s an extraordinary turnaround after 2024 began with an unchanged grid from the previous season and no newcomers. This time, eight of 10 teams have changed their lineup. And it adds intrigue to intrateam battles. Eventual F1 world champions often show their potential early by matching or outperforming veteran teammates. Will any of these rookies pull that off?
A spicier ‘silly season’
This year’s “silly season” for the driver market will have two new dimensions. The first is the onset of new regulations in 2026, which will reset the pecking order. Nobody really knows which teams will get it right and which will flop, so driver moves ahead of such an event can have huge impacts on the sport. The second factor is the addition of an 11th team, Cadillac F1, built in partnership with Andretti Global, which will elevate the sport’s American presence.
Some high-profile drivers are out of contract, including Russell and Yuki Tsunoda of Racing Bulls. And as recent years have shown, F1 contracts have a knack for being torn up, with some sort of agreement, if one or both parties aren’t happy. Verstappen, the hottest property in F1, has a contract with Red Bull through 2028, but paddock rumors continue to swirl that he’s eying his options if doubts about the team linger — and if a rival squad can persuade him it has a better package to fight for a championship.
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