Ocon joins Haas from next season. What the F1 grid for 2025 looks like so far

Updated Jul. 25, 2024 1:54 p.m. ET
Associated Press

After French driver Esteban Ocon signed a contract Thursday to partner with rookie Ollie Bearman at Haas, five Formula One teams have now completed their lineups for next season. Five seats at four teams remain unfilled.

The Associated Press takes a look at how the grid will appear in 2025.

Red Bull

Reigning world champion Max Verstappen will continue to team up with Sergio Perez next season.

ADVERTISEMENT

Verstappen has a deal running through the end of 2028 and has committed himself to the team for the long term despite speculation he could leave earlier.

Perez has signed a two-year contract extension through 2026 and said he wants to end his F1 career with Red Bull. But there are clauses in his new contract that, if his performance doesn't improve, the deal could be terminated.

Ferrari

All eyes will be on Ferrari at the start of next season when Lewis Hamilton joins the team. The seven-time world champion is joining Ferrari in 2025 after 12 years with Mercedes.

The other seat at Ferrari will be retained by Charles Leclerc, who has been racing for the team since 2019 and has signed a contract extension.

Aston Martin

Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll are being kept next season.

Stroll will continue racing through 2026 after the team said his new contract “will see Lance race into the new era of F1 regulations” — which start in 2026.

The extension also means Stroll and Alonso will continue together for a third and fourth season. In April, the two-time F1 champion Alonso signed a contract extension with Aston Martin for at least two more seasons.

Williams

Alex Albon ended speculation about his future in May by signing a multi-year contract extension with Williams. The British-born Thai driver had been under contract through 2025 and is in his third consecutive season with Williams.

He has scored four points this year and has been consistently faster than his teammate, American driver Logan Sargeant, whose seat is in jeopardy. Albon last season scored 27 points to Sargeant’s one to help Williams finish seventh in the constructors’ championship, the team’s best result in six years.

Sauber

Nico Hulkenberg is leaving Haas for Sauber at the end of the year, giving the team a German presence on the grid when it rebrands to Audi in 2026.

Hulkenberg will depart Haas after two years. German automaker Audi reached a deal for a full takeover of Switzerland-based Sauber and is planning to field a full works team from 2026.

At least one of the current drivers — Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu — will leave amid speculation that Carlos Sainz could join the team.

Mercedes

George Russell will remain with Mercedes in 2025 for a fourth season. He was on pole in Canada and at Silverstone and won the Austrian GP in June.

Hamilton's replacement with the Silver Arrows has yet to be announced but there is speculation that F2 driver Kimi Antonelli could take the remaining seat.

Alpine

Pierre Gasly has signed a multi-year contract extension. The French-owned team said it will announce “in due course" who will replace Ocon, with junior driver Jack Doohan being considered.

Ocon and Gasly have made no secret of the fact they did not have a great relationship. The pair collided approaching the tunnel section at the Monaco GP this year, with Ocon taking responsibility for the incident and receiving a five-place grid penalty for the following race.

McLaren

Lando Norris signed a multi-year contract extension with McLaren before the 2022 season that runs through 2025, the same length on the deal teammate Oscar Piastri has with the team. Norris won his first Grand Prix this year in Miami.

Piastri won his first Formula One race after teammate Norris handed him back the lead to complete a McLaren one-two at the Hungarian Grand Prix earlier this month. Piastri was a champion in F3 and F2 before he made the jump to the motorsport’s elite competition last season with McLaren.

RB

Yuki Tsunoda will remain with Red Bull’s junior team next season.

RB has picked up the option on Tsunoda’s contract to keep the Japanese driver through 2025. He is currently teammates with Daniel Ricciardo, who hasn’t confirmed a seat yet for next season.

Haas

Ocon will drive for Haas next season as a replacement for Kevin Magnussen. Details of the deal were not announced, with Haas only saying Thursday that the 27-year-old driver committed to a multi-year contract.

Ocon, the only driver to win a race for Alpine since it rebranded from Renault at the end of 2020, has picked up just three points this season and had already announced he was leaving the French-owned team. His Alpine contract is expiring at the end of the season.

Ocon will bring crucial experience to the team after 19-year-old Oliver Bearman was also announced.

___

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

share


in this topic