What Will Next Season’s F1 Driver Lineups Look Like? Young Talent Incoming

We are going to be in for one heck of a "silly season" this year as the 2025 driver lineups are starting to fall into place. But there are still some questions that need to be answered on the grid before we head into the next F1 season.

Ferrari, McLaren, and Aston Martin Likely Locked In

The lineups for these three teams for 2025 are more or less secured. Ferrari will be moving on from Carlos Sainz and replacing him with 7-Time World Champ Lewis Hamilton, who will be accompanied by Charles Leclerc in the other scarlett Ferrari.

McLaren are on a high as they dived their way into the 2024 championship fight and look to be in good shape come long-term as well. Australian youngster Oscar Piastri is entering his second year in F1 and is already showing forth his immense pace early in his career. Lando Norris is fresh off his first ever Grand Prix victory in Miami and is locked in with McLaren for the long haul. We think we'll be seeing this talented pair lined up together in the papayas for quite a bit of time.

Aston Martin is really the only of these three that holds a bit of a variable. Aston re-signed the seemingly ageless Fernando Alonso back on a multi-year deal earlier this season. This re-signing does hold some questions for their second seat. It will likely be given to team owner Lawrence Stroll's son, Lance Stroll. Nothing is a sure shot, as Stroll Sr. could be losing his patience with his son constantly being out performed by Aston's other driver.

Slew of Young Talent can Finally Invade the Grid

Young F2 drivers such as Oliver Bearman, Kimi Antonelli, Liam Lawson, and also Jack Doohan could all very well be on their way into Formula 1 next year.

Oliver Bearman showcased his pace under immense pressure and with little to no practice in an F1 car; when he sat in for Carlos Sainz, who was out due to appendicitis, in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Bearman hopped into the Ferrari and secured a P7 finish for the Italian team on a rather difficult track for most drivers. We will likely see Bearman take up a seat at Haas for a couple of years, as he has already been taking their cars for test spins in FP1s as theirs and Ferrari's reserve driver.

Kimi Antonelli is in a rather odd situation, as to how soon he will be picked up into F1 seems to be dependent on how much Toto Wolff believes in him making the jump. Wolff may still be trying to right his wrong by not taking a flier on masterclass talent Max Verstappen when he was in the same place as Antonelli at a very young age. Kimi's talent has been revered by Wolff, as Antonelli already jumped F3. We could see him make another early jump into F1 in possibly the Williams vacant seat, that is if Williams looks to move off of the Logan Sargeant project.

Liam Lawson is one of the many young drivers to be stuck in F1 limbo as Red Bull's reserve driver since 2022. But the 2025 season could finally see him make his way in. As it seems, Yuki Tsunoda will be departing from VCARB and Daniel Ricciardo will likely be continuing with them; VCARB may want to have a younger driver like Lawson learn in the other seat come next year.

Ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix, Jack Doohan will be taking Esteban Ocon's Alpine for a spin in FP1. Now that Alpine has made it clear that they will be moving on from Ocon, Doohan could see himself finally getting his shot at an F1 seat with the French manufacturer. There are still question marks as to who will drive for Alpine next year, but the team has expressed some interest in bringing Pierre Gasly back for another season, possibly paired up with Jack Doohan.

Carlos Sainz and Yuki Tsunoda are Still Top Talents Available

With the recent news that Sergio Perez has now re-signed with Red Bull, Carlos Sainz and Yuki Tsunoda's future seats with a more competitive team may be up in the air.

With Nico Hulkenberg signing with Sauber, Alex Albon staying at Williams, and Alonso back in Aston, this leaves Mercedes' second seat as the last true competitive spot for these drivers.

Sainz may get the preferred treatment being that he has performed better over a longer course of time compared to Tsunoda. But there is still some upside in Yuki, being a bit younger and little bit less of a threat to George Russell as Merc's #1 driver.

But now with reports of Sainz being out of the Mercedes seat running, and Tsunoda running it back with VCARB in 2025; Sainz's future is looking like it would be with either Williams, Sauber, or even Alpine. The Spaniard crushed rumors saying that he had already signed with Willams, but his final decision is still seemingly on the horizon.

Aside from Esteban Ocon not continuing at Alpine, Carlos Sainz and Yuki Tsunoda are likely the top targets for any competitive team in need of a driver.