Before this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, one of the 2025 Formula One grid spots might be confirmed, per a report. Six seats are still available for the upcoming year as of right now. If Red Bull decides to fire Sergio Perez, that might increase to seven. The Mexican recently inked a new contract, but if he doesn’t turn around his terrible performance, that agreement might be terminated.
However, Mercedes appears to have the largest known vacancy. The two front-runners for the role of Lewis Hamilton’s replacement, Toto Wolff and company still have to choose between Kimi Antonelli and Carlos Sainz. Though certain races have more free spots than others, the remaining drives are in the midfield. As members of the Red Bull driver academy, Liam Lawson, Isack Hadjar, and Ayumu Iwasa, for example, will all be vying for Daniel Ricciardo’s spot at RB.
Oliver Bearman will take Nico Hulkenberg’s spot at Sauber, according to Haas, although they haven’t revealed who his partner would be. Kevin Magnussen’s contract expires at the end of the current one. Similarly, Hulkenberg and Pierre Gasly’s partners for Sauber and Alpine have not yet been announced. Valtteri Bottas is the front-runner to succeed Logan Sargeant at Williams.
“Imminent” move of Esteban Ocon to Haas When asked if there would be any further driver moves before the summer break, Andrew Benson answered in a Q&A for BBC Sport. He anticipates that Esteban Ocon’s entry will be announced by Haas soon, maybe even before the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Although it is still uncertain how long the contract will last, the Frenchman has already signed it. Since Spotrac’s 2010 transfer to Alpine, Mercedes has managed him; now, “well-placed” team officials have disclosed his next destination. Spotrac earns £92k per week. The Hungarian Grand Prix this weekend may serve as the catalyst for an announcement that Esteban Ocon has committed to join Haas for the upcoming season, according to a report from Benson. BBC Sport has been informed of this. The Frenchman’s management, Mercedes and Haas, are the sources of this information.
Haas was instructed by Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur to bring in a colleague who could support Bearman, and Ayao Komatsu will definitely envision that kind of dynamic. Ocon won in Hungary in 2021 and has participated in 145 Grands Prix to date. His prior connection to the team principal might be useful. When Ocon was a test driver at Lotus, Komatsu was one of his coworkers.
Ocon calls the talks in the Alps “complete nonsense.” Ocon will have to refute the claim made about him at Haas that he is not a “team player.” Only if he collaborates well with the novice Bearman can the team reach its full potential. After he and Gasly collided at the beginning of the Monaco Grand Prix, his association with Alpine has ended. He was told by the crew to stay put during the first lap, but he made a bold move that ended his race.
Although it hasn’t been said specifically, there appears to be conflict on the team. After the previous race’s dismal qualifying at Silverstone, Ocon publicly vented his fury at an Alpine engineer in the pits. Given Gasly’s commitment, some could assume that he is naturally biased. However, it has been deemed “complete nonsense” that Ocon will not be allowed to attend team meetings prior to his Haas move.