2023-12-24 11:25:05
This has never happened in 74 years of Formula 1: Before the new cars turn their first laps in 2024, a record is already certain: not a single driver changed teams in the winter. A new Bundesliga season without a single transfer – unimaginable. Until now it was the same in Formula 1 – so unimaginable.
Let’s go back to 1994, for example: There were no fewer than 33 driver changes. Ten of them in the winter before the season. A new cockpit was allocated 21 times during the year. Of the 14 teams, only four made it through the season without changing drivers – Tyrrell, Minardi, Footwork and Pacific.
The cash-strapped racing teams Larrousse and Lotus drained the wallets of six (paid) drivers. Legend Ayrton Senna died. The future world champion Michael Schumacher was suspended for two races. And not just him.
No driver change following the 2023 season
The most driver changes between years occurred in 1990 with 23. Only the years from 1980 onwards are counted. Before that, guest starters were the norm, and only half of the drivers even drove through the entire season. Today, so many transfers are no longer conceivable.
Especially in Formula 1 seasons that are not necessarily brimming with excitement (and that might certainly be said regarding 2023), the Silly Season is a guarantee of excitement for motorsport fans. Who changes teams? Where does your favorite driver go? Or to put it another way: How are the cards reshuffled?
What kind of rumors there were in 2023. Sergio Pérez had to worry until the end whether Red Bull would give him another chance. Mick Schumacher tried to get talked to by various teams. Lance Stroll should get fed up and resign from Papa Stroll – the majority owner of Aston Martin.
Charles Leclerc was considered a possible successor to Stroll – now Italian media have long been speculating regarding an extension of the Monegasque’s contract with Ferrari. Some write regarding three years, others even regarding five.
Hamilton record shows the lousy
This brings us to one reason why the transfer market has become so tiresomely boring and has virtually come to a standstill. The drivers bond with their teams for much longer.
World champion Max Verstappen will be driving his ninth season for Red Bull in 2024 (since 2016). Four more will probably be added by the end of the contract in 2028. Lewis Hamilton is even entering his twelfth year together with Mercedes (since 2012) – surpassing Michael Schumacher’s previous record (eleven years for Ferrari from 1996 to 2006). With a new 5-year contract, Leclerc would also have eleven years with Ferrari.
It is no coincidence that the drivers have now become committed to their teams for so long. Many drivers come from in-house junior programs. In fact, Leclerc has been a Ferrari driver for much longer. He was already there as a young driver in Formula 3 and Formula 2 as well as in his first Formula 1 races for Sauber. In this way, drivers build a certain loyalty to their employers and sponsors.
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen have been driving for their teams for a long time
But they remain selfish. For 14 years there have only been two teams that have had a world champion – Red Bull and Mercedes. In fact, team changes are only interesting if a pilot can get into both teams.
The F1 champions of the previous 14 years, on the other hand, drove for five different racing teams. Team changes were more unpredictable in the outcome, so the drivers were more likely to take the risk.
Chris Amon, for example, drove for 14 different manufacturers. Fernando Alonso has driven for five different teams – but he has also been there longer than any other driver in Formula 1 history.
14 drivers with expiring contracts
Drivers are more loyal to their teams than before. But there were a lot more teams back then. In 1989, for example, there were 20 – twice as many as today. An eleventh racing team, Andretti, is knocking on the door, but most teams don’t want another applicant.
Although the Formula 2 champion has not managed direct promotion to Formula 1 for three years. More teams would also lead to more movement on the transfer market.
The hope remains that the Silly Season will be more exciting once more for the 2025 season. Maybe even really silly, really crazy once more. This is supported by the fact that the contracts of 14 drivers expire at the end of 2024…
The contract terms of Formula 1 drivers
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull) until the end of 2028
- Oscar Piastri (McLaren) until the end of 2026
- Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) until the end of 2025
- George Russell (Mercedes) until the end of 2025
- Lando Norris (McLaren) until the end of 2025
- Valtteri Bottas (Sauber) until the end of 2025
- Sergio Pérez (Red Bull) bis End 2024
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
- Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) until the end of 2024
- Fernando Alonso – Aston Martin
- Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) to End
- Esteban Ocon (Alpine) until the end of 2024
- Pierre Gasly (Alpine) until the end of 2024
- Alex Albon (Williams) until the end of 2024
- Logan Sargeant (Williams) until the end of 2024
- Yuki Tsunoda (Alpha Tauri) until the end of 2024
- Daniel Ricciardo (Alpha Tauri) bis end of
- Guanyu Zhou (Sauber) bis Ende 2024
- Nico Hülkenberg (Haas) until the end of 2024
- Kevin Magnussen (Haas) until the end of 2024
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#dont #drivers #change #teams #anymore
