With Formula 1 now fully in the grip of the so-called 'silly season', it's a barrage of driver announcements and confirmations up and down the grid – some perhaps more surprising than others.
Given the musical chairs currently going on, let's look at who is confirmed at each team for 2022, and who is yet to put pen to paper.
Confirmed drivers for 2022
Team | Driver | Driver |
---|---|---|
Mercedes | Lewis Hamilton | George Russell |
Red Bull Racing | Max Verstappen | Sergio Perez |
Ferrari | Charles Leclerc | Carlos Sainz |
McLaren | Lando Norris | Daniel Ricciardo |
Alpine | Fernando Alonso | Esteban Ocon |
AlphaTauri | Pierre Gasly | Yuki Tsunoda |
Alfa Romeo | Valtteri Bottas | TBC |
Aston Martin | Sebastian Vettel | Lance Stroll |
Haas | TBC | TBC |
Williams | Nicholas Latifi | Alex Albon |
Haas
Haas are yet to confirm either driver for next season, although all the signs are there that it will be an unchanged line-up of Nikita Mazepin and Mick Schumacher.
However, there remains a very small chance that a change might happen. While Mazepin's stay is almost guaranteed due to his dad's control of Haas' title sponsor, Uralkali, his deteriorating relationship with Schumacher means that rumours have emerged about the latter's continuation.
Rumours have suggested that a dissatisfied Schumacher camp are attempting to jump ship to Alfa Romeo and make use of their Ferrari backing. With Schumacher still a part of the Ferrari Driver Academy, this is a viable proposition, even if Alfa Romeo are taking great pains to stress that Ferrari will not have any say over either of their seats in 2022.
Alfa Romeo
With Kimi Raikkonen retiring at the end of 2021, Alfa Romeo's line-up for 2022 could be an all-new one. Valtteri Bottas has been signed as the lead driver to replace his retiring compatriot, but the second seat is hugely contested.
There's a long list of names linked with the team. As well as Giovinazzi vying to continue, helped by his recent upturn in form, Callum Ilott remains closely associated to Alfa Romeo through his Ferrari Academy role, and took part in a free practice session earlier this year.
There's also the aforementioned possibility of a switch for Mick Schumacher, while Chinese Formula 2 driver Guanyu Zhou has been strongly linked with the seat in recent weeks.
Speaking in a recent, exclusive interview with RacingNews365.com, team boss Frederic Vasseur said there's plenty of options under consideration.
"I don't want to make a list, because if I forget someone, it will be under the spotlight," Vasseur commented.
"But you have all the frontrunners in F2. You have the guys who are still available on the F1 market, and the first of them is Antonio."
He added: "We will take a decision already [in] the beginning of October."
Vasseur appears to have distanced the team from the suggestion that Mercedes-backed Nyck de Vries is the favourite for the second seat.
"De Vries looks complicated for me, because he's strongly linked to Mercedes," he said.
"It's much easier for us to deal with someone who is under contract with Ferrari, than someone who is under contract with Mercedes.
"With Ferrari, we have a very strong link and very open discussions, [so] it will never be an issue to deal with Antonio and Ferrari."
Also interesting:
Video: Check out the sports cars Verstappen drives away from the track!
While Max Verstappen is most known for his performances in a Red Bull F1 car, his passion for motorsport can be seen in what he drives when he's away from the track.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and claim your chance to win!
SUBSCRIBE & WINMost read
In this article
F1 2021 Russian Grand Prix RN365 News dossier
Join the conversation!