The 2019 Formula 1 season was the first season in several years after which nobody retired. Who will be the next to call it a career?
After the 21-race 2019 Formula 1 season came to an end, none of the sport’s 20 active drivers retired. The 2019 season was the first in several years that did not end with at least one driver calling it quits.
In fact, 18 of the 20 drivers who competed throughout the 2019 season are slated to return to the same teams they driver for in 2019 in the upcoming 2020 season.
Neither of the two who aren’t coming back for this year, Nico Hulkenberg and Robert Kubica, actually retired from the sport. Hulkenberg was replaced by Esteban Ocon, who last competed for Racing Point in the 2018 season, at Renault, while Kubica was replaced by rookie Nicholas Latifi.
There is no guarantee that Hulkenberg or Kubica or both will return to Formula 1 as full-time drivers at any point in the future, although Kubica is slated to serve as a test driver for Alfa Romeo Racing this season. Hulkenberg is not slated to compete in 2020.
Which drivers could be the next to retire? Here are five possible candidates who could be next to hang up their helmets.
Kimi Raikkonen
Listing anybody other than Kimi Raikkonen as the first driver in this article would almost be perceived as forgetting that the “Ice Man” still competes in Formula 1. But he does, and except for the 2010 and 2011 seasons, he has competed in the sport since 2001.
Raikkonen is more than five years older than any other driver in the field at 40 years old, and he is set to enter a contract year with Alfa Romeo Racing in 2020.
Additionally, he is slated to break the all-time Formula 1 starts record this year, although when, exactly, he does it could be dependent on whether or not all of the races that are scheduled actually end up taking place as planned with the coronavirus having already canceled the Chinese Grand Prix at Shanghai International Circuit in April.
Would the 2007 champion come back for more in 2021 as the sport’s most experienced driver of all-time, or would he hang up his helmet before then?
Ferrari have the right to select one of Alfa Romeo Racing’s two drivers each year. While Raikkonen came from Ferrari ahead of the 2019 season, he was not their selection. Alfa Romeo Racing have stated that the Finn can compete for the team for as long as he wants, so a retirement would be on his terms, as it should be.
The only question is, what are his terms?
Well, we know one of them, thanks to his famously dry sense of humor.
Sebastian Vettel
Sebastian Vettel, like Kimi Raikkonen, is set to enter a contract year in Formula 1 in the 2020 season. While 32 years of age isn’t exactly old, Vettel is one of only seven drivers competing in the sport who is over the age of 30.
Vettel’s recent dip in performance has caused there to be a lot of rumors about his future beyond what is slated to be his sixth season with Ferrari in 2020 after extending his initial three-year contract by another three years back in August of 2017.
Based on the math, Vettel threw away enough points in the 2017 season and the 2018 season via unforced errors to cost himself both championships, factoring in both the points he lost and the points that Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, who won the championships in both years, gained as a result of those errors.
Hamilton is a six-time world champion while Vettel is a four-time world champion, but minus a few (okay, many) crucial errors, that could very well be the other way around entering the 2020 campaign.
It could be Vettel looking to tie fellow German Michael Schumacher for the all-time Formula 1 world titles record, not Hamilton looking to do it competing for a German manufacturer.
The subject of Vettel returning, or not returning, to Ferrari in 2021 has been a hot topic this offseason, especially after the team effectively committed to Charles Leclerc as their primary long-term option by extending his contract through 2024.
Several drivers have been linked to Ferrari’s second seat alongside Leclerc in 2021, and if Vettel does not retain his ride, would he really settle in elsewhere? With four championships and 53 wins, the third highest win total in Formula 1 history, he has already done it all.
Lewis Hamilton
The seemingly obligatory annual Lewis Hamilton retirement rumors have come and gone over this particular offseason, but don’t discount them from returning after every season Hamilton continues to compete in the sport.
Believe it or not, the six-time and three-time reigning world champion is the second oldest driver in the sport at the age of 35, so him being one of the next drivers or perhaps even the next driver to retire is not all that far-fetched even when the rumors are continuously shot down.
Hamilton’s current contract with Mercedes expires at the end of the 2020 season after it was extended by two years back in July of 2018, but he has already been tipped to return to the team in 2021. It is believed that another contract extension would be for two years again, but nothing is confirmed.
The Briton is the longest tenured driver with his current team in Formula 1, and he has a chance to tie Michael Schumacher’s all-time championships record of seven this year. Having won the last three and five of the last six titles and only finishing in second place to teammate Nico Rosberg by a mere five points (385 to 380) in 2016, he is the clear favorite to win the 2020 title.
In fact, there are quite a few records of Schumacher’s that he is poised to break in 2020 as well, most notably the all-time wins record of 91. Hamilton has won 84 races, and he hasn’t won fewer than nine races in a single season since 2013.
If he becomes an eight-time champion and perhaps secures a significant win total, something along the lines of 100, would he stick around beyond that?
Romain Grosjean
Romain Grosjean’s age coupled with his recent struggles have placed him on the hot seat multiple times in recent years, but he always seems to work his way off of it to sign another deal to return to Haas.
Grosjean was thought to be out after the 2018 season after a disastrous start to the year that saw him fail to score points in the first eight races and retire three times in the first five while teammate Kevin Magnussen scored 27 points in the first eight races on four top 10 finishes, including three top six results.
But he saved himself with a solid rest of the season, securing seven top 10 finishes, including a fourth place finish, and scoring 37 points.
The 2019 season, however, was an even bigger disaster. He recorded just three top 10 finishes and a top finish of seventh and only managed to score eight points, yet he was somehow able to extend his deal once again.
Grosjean has competed for Formula 1’s lone American team since they began competing in Formula 1 back in 2016, but if he continues to struggle the way he has, it may come time for Haas to axe the 33-year-old Frenchman.
Additionally, there are rumors that Haas may not even be back in the sport after the 2020 season if they cannot make improvements over what was arguably their worst year yet in 2019. If they end up withdrawing ahead of the 2021 season, it is hard to see another team picking Grosjean up.
Fernando Alonso
Yes, Fernando Alonso retired after the 2018 Formula 1 season. But the two-time world champion stated prior to the 2019 season finale that he would consider returning to the grid in the 2021 season, effectively making his “retirement” useless for the time being.
While his options would be limited, let’s say he does return in 2021.
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By the time the 2021 season rolls around, he would be 39 years old, which would make him the second oldest driver on the grid — that is, if Kimi Raikkonen sticks around and signs another contract extension, even after becoming the sport’s all-time most experienced driver in 2020.
So Alonso wouldn’t be here for long if he does return.
But now let’s say he doesn’t return. Considering he has put himself back in play, he would technically need to “retire” officially anyway.
At the end of the day, he’s probably done in Formula 1 already following his initial “retirement”, but he is still worth mentioning here. There aren’t a whole lot of other drivers out there who are in positions to hang up their helmets, even if they do get replaced.
Aside of the four other drivers discussed in this article, only three drivers on the 2020 grid are at least 30 years old, and all are exactly 30. Those three drivers are Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas, Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo are both 30 and Racing Point’s Sergio Perez.
Bottas and Ricciardo are out of contracts following the 2020 season, but both have been rumored to either return to their current teams or sign elsewhere. Perez is already under contract through 2022.
Who will be the next driver to retire from Formula 1? Will it be one of the five drivers discussed in this article, or will another driver unexpectedly walk away from the sport in the near future?