Formula 1: Four of five 2020 driver confirmations expected in the near future

There are five remaining open seats on the 20-car 2020 Formula 1 grid, and four of them are expected to be confirmed in the near future.

Of the 20 seats on the 2020 Formula 1 grid, 15 already have confirmed drivers, and 14 of these 15 drivers already drive for the team’s they are slated to drive for next season. The only exception is Esteban Ocon, who signed with Renault to replace Nico Hulkenberg.

But four of the remaining five open seats on next year’s grid are expected to be confirmed in the near future.

There is one remaining open seat at Aston Martin Red Bull Racing, one remaining open seat at Alfa Romeo Racing, one remaining open seat at ROKiT Williams Racing and two remaining open seats at Scuderia Toro Rosso. The only open seat that does not have a heavily rumored driver for next season is the Williams seat.

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As for the Williams seat, Hulkenberg has been rumored as a candidate, as has Williams reserve and test driver and current Formula 2 driver Nicholas Latifi. But there has been no indication as to who the Grove-based team will select.

As for the other four seats, expect them to be confirmed in the near future.

Red Bull Racing team manager Helmut Marko has already stated that Daniil Kvyat is set to return to the organization next year, but he has stated that the second seat at Red Bull Racing is between Alexander Albon, the current driver, and Pierre Gasly, the Toro Rosso driver who Albon replaced after the first 12 races of the 2019 season. As a result, expect a public confirmation that Kvyat is set to return to Toro Rosso next year before long.

As for the Red Bull Racing seat and the other Toro Rosso seat, the organization has revealed that they don’t want to look outside the organization for drivers next year. Albon hasn’t been flashy in his first four races driving for Red Bull Racing, but he also hasn’t finished outside of the top six.

It took Gasly 10 races to record his fourth top six finish with Red Bull Racing, and he admitted that he feels more comfortable at Toro Rosso than he did at Red Bull Racing. His results at Toro Rosso since returning to the team show that he still has what it takes to get the most out of his car driving for the team following a disappointing stint at Red Bull Racing.

Other rumored candidates for this ride had been Super Formula driver Naoki Yamamoto and Formula 2 driver Nobuharu Matsushita, as engine manufacturer Honda wants to place a Japanese driver in Formula 1.

But the Yamamoto talks have dimmed down quit a bit despite the fact that he is set to participate in his first free practice session ahead of this Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka Circuit, and Matsushita is not slated to earn enough points on his superlicense before the 2019 Formula 2 season ends to land a ride in Formula 1 next year.

So expect Albon to be confirmed at Red Bull Racing and Gasly to be confirmed at Toro Rosso.

As for the second Alfa Romeo Racing seat, Antonio Giovinazzi has been tipped to return. He landed his ride with support from Ferrari, as they have the right to select one of Alfa Romeo Racing’s two drivers, and they have backed him to return to the team next season, even with Hulkenberg available. While he has struggled throughout his rookie season, his form has improved recently, so expect him to be confirmed as well.

Who will land in the five remaining open seats on the 2020 Formula 1 grid? Four of them are expected to be confirmed in the near future while the other one appears to be far more up in the air.