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Formula 1: Several open seats headline 2020 Silly Season rumors

By Asher Fair

HOCKENHEIM, GERMANY - JULY 28: Valtteri Bottas driving the (77) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes W10 leads Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (33) Aston Martin Red Bull Racing RB15 on track during the F1 Grand Prix of Germany at Hockenheimring on July 28, 2019 in Hockenheim, Germany. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)
HOCKENHEIM, GERMANY - JULY 28: Valtteri Bottas driving the (77) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes W10 leads Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (33) Aston Martin Red Bull Racing RB15 on track during the F1 Grand Prix of Germany at Hockenheimring on July 28, 2019 in Hockenheim, Germany. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images) /
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Several drivers have been confirmed for the 2020 Formula 1 season, but there are an equal number of seats without confirmed drivers.

Barring drivers triggering clauses in their contracts to leave their current teams or teams triggering clauses in these clauses to ax their drivers, 10 of the 20 seats on the 2020 Formula 1 grid are set.

Six of the sport’s 10 teams have each confirmed one driver for next season while two of the other four have each confirmed two and the other two have not yet confirmed any.

While this year’s Silly Season is not expected to be nearly as crazy as last year’s was when only eight drivers stayed put, six switched teams, six left Formula 1 and six entered the series, there are still several open seats in next year’s lineup, and that could create drama over the course of the next few weeks and months.

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Of course, one of the key storylines heading into Silly Season pertained to Max Verstappen’s future with Aston Martin Red Bull Racing and a possible departure to Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport.

But now we know that Verstappen’s performance exit clause with Red Bull Racing has expired and he will remain with the team and thus not make the move to Mercedes ahead of the 2020 season.

Had this not been the case, perhaps Silly Season would be set up to feature a bit more chaos like year. Nevertheless, there are still several open seats for next season.

Here is a list of the 10 teams and the driver confirmations among the 20 seats for the 2020 season.

NOTE: The confirmed drivers are listed in bold print. The years in parenthesis indicate when the current contracts of these driver expire.

Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport

  • Lewis Hamilton (2020)
  • Valtteri Bottas

Scuderia Ferrari

  • Sebastian Vettel (2020)
  • Charles Leclerc (2022)

Aston Martin Red Bull Racing

  • Max Verstappen (2020)
  • Alexander Albon

McLaren

  • Carlos Sainz Jr. (2020)
  • Lando Norris (2022)

Scuderia Toro Rosso

  • Daniil Kvyat
  • Pierre Gasly

Renault

  • Daniel Ricciardo (2020)
  • Nico Hulkenberg

Alfa Romeo Racing

  • Kimi Raikkonen (2020)
  • Antonio Giovinazzi

SportPesa Racing Point

  • Sergio Perez
  • Lance Stroll

Rich Energy Haas

  • Kevin Magnussen (2020)
  • Romain Grosjean

ROKiT Williams Racing

  • George Russell (2021)
  • Robert Kubica

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While this year’s Silly Season should be nowhere near as chaotic as last year’s was, the current contract confirmations could set up a chaotic Silly Season next year.

Of the 10 drivers who have been confirmed for the 2020 Formula 1 season, six have contracts that expire at the end of the season, including one on each of the sport’s top three teams. With the new major regulations set to be implemented ahead of the 2021 season, we could see signings that we traditionally wouldn’t expect.

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