Following McLaren’s 2020 Formula 1 season driver lineup confirmation but before Silly Season really starts to heat up, here are the drivers under contract through 2020.
McLaren got the ball rolling as far as this year’s driver confirmations for the 2020 Formula 1 season are concerned by confirming both of their current drivers, Carlos Sainz Jr. and rookie Lando Norris, for the 2020 season.
As a result, the Woking-based team will likely no longer be subject to Silly Season speculation, at least not as it pertains to the 2020 season.
But before Silly Season really starts to heat up and rumors about drivers driving for certain teams start to circulate rapidly, let’s take a look at the drivers who are already under contract for at least the 2020 season.
Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport
- Lewis Hamilton (2020): Hamilton signed a two-year contract extension in July of 2018.
Scuderia Ferrari
- Sebastian Vettel (2020): Vettel signed a three-year contract extension in August of 2017.
- Charles Leclerc (2022): Leclerc signed a contract for at least four seasons in September of 2018.
Aston Martin Red Bull Racing
- Max Verstappen (2020): Verstappen signed a three-year contract extension in October of 2017.
McLaren
- Carlos Sainz Jr. (2020): Sainz Jr. signed a multi-year contract in August of 2018 and was confirmed for the 2020 season in July of 2019.
- Lando Norris (2022): Norris signed a multi-year contract in September of 2018 and was confirmed for the 2020 season in July of 2019 with a three-year contract extension.
Renault
- Daniel Ricciardo (2020): Ricciardo signed a two-year contract in August of 2018.
Haas
- Kevin Magnussen (2020): Magnussen signed a contract extension in September of 2018 that he later revealed to be good for through the 2020 season.
Alfa Romeo Racing
- Kimi Raikkonen (2020): Raikkonen signed a two-year contract in September of 2018.
ROKiT Williams Racing
- George Russell (2020): Russell signed a multi-year contract in October of 2018.
SportPesa Racing Point are not under contract to return to Formula 1 in the 2020 season, but assuming they return the sport, they will likely do so with their current driver lineup of veteran Sergio Perez and youngster Lance Stroll.
It is worth nothing that the contracts of many drivers contain clauses that drivers can trigger to get out of their contracts. There has been a lot of speculation about such clauses in the contracts of Verstappen and Vettel.
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Verstappen’s manager, Raymond Vermeulen, confirmed that he has a performance clause in his contract with Red Bull Racing, but details about this clause were not revealed; team manager Helmut Marko previously stated that it would allow him to leave the Milton Keynes-based team if they do not give him a car that is capable of winning this year’s championship.
Vettel, meanwhile, did what many people expect Verstappen to do and triggered a clause in his contract with Red Bull Racing to leave the team after the 2014 season, one year before his contract expired. There has been speculation that he could do the same thing at Ferrari, the team for which he has driven since the 2015 season, perhaps to retire or to join another team.
Of the 10 drivers in this list, only six should be considered safe bets to return to their respective teams in the 2020 season. Hamilton, Leclerc, Sainz Jr., Norris, Ricciardo and Raikkonen are these six drivers, while there will likely continue to be speculation surrounding the other four, primarily Verstappen and Vettel.
Magnussen and Russell should both return to their respective teams as well unless opportunities at top-tier teams open up. Based on pure speculation, Magnussen would be considered for an open seat at Ferrari, which would surface if Vettel leaves, while Russell would be considered for an open seat at Mercedes, which would surface if the team do not pick up the additional one-year option on the one-year contract extension that Valtteri Bottas signed in July of 2018.
There is still plenty of room for driver changes ahead of the 2020 Formula 1 season even with several drivers already being under contract for the 2020 season with only nine of the 21-race 2019 season’s races having been contested, unlike last season when only two drivers entered the season under contract through 2019.