Steiner: “It's early to make decisions, but many will fight for a place in 2025” | FormulaPassion

Zero negotiations

The 2024 it will be an atypical season for Formula 1, at least as regards the drivers present on the starting grid, which will be the same as the 2023 championship. Contrary to the tradition dictated by some pilots marketbetween this year and next no transfers will occur, with the confirmation of Logan Sargeant in Williams which put an end to any type of negotiation or option. However, it is also true that the same situation may not recur for the 2025.

The contract issue

In the more than probable event that Ferrari formalizes the renewals of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, as should happen according to the statements of President John Elkann, well 13 pilots they cannot currently count on an agreement that guarantees their presence in 2025. A list from which the two Mercedes drivers, Hamilton and Russell, as well as Piastri and Norris for McLaren and world champion Max Verstappen are excluded.

Haas' 2023

The risk of non-renewal or inability to find a place in another team also applies to the two drivers of the Haas, Nico Hülkenberg and Kevin Magnussen. With the team reaching the 10th and last place in the Constructors' classification, the best overall performance was achieved by the expert German driver, 7th in Melbourne. However, the performance in Australia was also the only one in which he finished in the points, with the other three top-10 finishes achieved by his Danish teammate in Saudi Arabia, Miami and Singapore.

The next market

Regarding Haas and the driver market that will open in 2025, an opinion in this regard was provided by the Team Principal Günther Steinerconvinced that F1 will now be ready to welcome new rookies: “At a certain point we will see new drivers in Formula 1, because some will end their active careers in GPs – he commented in an interview reported by speedweek.com – as a team boss you always think about the driver market, but it is still too early to make decisions. I think many they will be busy very early next season to make sure you are in one good position in 2025“.