Kick Sauber announce Bortoleto will drive for the team as 2025 grid nears completion
06 November 2024Kick Sauber have this week announced that Zhou and Bottas are to leave the team at the end of the 2024 season, followed shortly by the announcement they would be signing rookie Brazilian driver Gabriel Bortoleto to race alongside Nico Hulkenberg from next year.
With this news, we now know who will be driving in all but one race seat for the 2025 season, leaving just the second seat at RB yet to be confirmed.
Let’s check in to see how the 2025 grid is shaping up.
Alpine – Pierre Gasly & Jack Doohan
Pierre Gasly and Jack Doohan will take the wheel of Alpine’s cars for 2025. Opting to retain Gasly for a number more years with a contract renewal announcement back in June, followed by the promotion of Doohan from reserve driver to full-time racer announced in August, the team’s line-up is set for next year.
Gasly, who has continued to impress with a number of solid results since making his Alpine debut at the start of 2023, not least his incredible P3 just last weekend in Brazil, will be looking to further develop in a team that’s looking to turn around its fortunes.
Australian rookie Jack Doohan will be stepping up to replace the departing Ocon next year. With an impressive 3rd place finish in F2 last year, Jack’s performance behind the scenes has clearly been enough to convince Alpine he’s ready for a seat. They may also have been quick to sign the driver, not wanting a repeat of the Piastri situation from a few years ago.
Aston Martin – Lance Stroll & Fernando Alonso
Aston Martin will be retaining their current line-up for the 2025 season. With both Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso announcing multi-year extensions to their contracts this year, both drivers seem committed to the team’s long-term vision. The future’s looking bright, too. Adrian Newey’s soon to join the team, and along with a new engine partnership and huge investment behind-the-scenes, the team have done enough to convince the drivers to put their faith in the Silverstone squad.
Ferrari – Charles Leclerc & Lewis Hamilton
Ferrari have perhaps the biggest new signing of 2025 – having convinced seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton to leave his long-standing partnership with Mercedes in favour of the Scuderia. Joining Hamilton at the team, Charles Leclerc, who signed another multi-year contract in June, will be hoping to continue the charge as he enters his seventh year with the oldest team on the grid.
Haas – Esteban Ocon & Oliver Bearman
A complete shake-up for Haas, who have certainly impressed in 2024, will see Alpine’s Esteban Ocon join the team along with rookie Oliver Bearman, replacing Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg at the American outfit. With a proven race record from Ocon, who will be entering his eighth season in Formula 1, and several great drives already this year from Bearman, we look set to see a revitalised Haas team continue to impress fans well into 2025.
Kick Sauber – Nico Hulkenberg & Gabriel Bortoleto
The one we’ve been waiting for. It’s taken right until the end of the season to finally get an answer, but we do now know who will be driving for Kick Sauber (soon to become Audi) next year. We’ve known since April that Hulkenberg was moving over to the team, but the mystery surrounding who will be in the second seat has finally reached its conclusion.
The team have announced that Gabriel Bortoleto will be driving for them from 2025 on a multi-year contract. It’s no surprise this driver has been scooped up by one of the teams, having won Formula 3 last year, and is currently leading in F2. It’ll be interesting to see how this rookie develops with the team, who have not been able to score a point in any race so far in 2024.
McLaren – Lando Norris & Oscar Piastri
One of only a few teams not undergoing some sort of shift in line-up, McLaren will be continuing in 2025 with their dynamic duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. The team are satisfied with the two drivers who have both put in solid performance and race wins this year. It’ll be interesting to see how they continue to develop and who will take the lead role next year.
Mercedes – George Russell & Kimi Antonelli
With the departure of Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes were left with a question over who would take their second seat for next year and beyond. George Russell re-signed in 2023 with the team, extending his stay until the end of 2025, but the question of who would replace Hamilton has led to plenty of speculation up and down the paddock.
Names from Max Verstappen to Carlos Sainz were all on the cards at one point, but it was rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli who eventually got the drive. Unusual for Mercedes, who tend to avoid signing rookies, the young driver has a lot to live up to, but he’s clearly done enough to impress bosses at the Brackley-based team.
RB – Yuki Tsunoda & TBC
The only team yet to officially announce their full line-up for next year, there may be a good reason why this isn’t the case. While the team replaced Daniel Ricciardo for Liam Lawson mid-way through this season, they haven’t confirmed the New Zealand driver for next year just yet.
Being closely tied to the Red Bull team, it’s clear that there is still some uncertainty around Perez’s future, given his recent performance and Red Bull losing out on the Constructors’ Championship. It remains to be seen how this team ends up looking, but currently Yuki Tsunoda does have a contract with the junior team for 2025.
Red Bull Racing – Max Verstappen & Sergio Perez
Red Bull have both their current drivers under contract for next year and are remaining tight-lipped on whether they’ll be replacing the underperforming Sergio Perez at the end of the season. Currently, they look set to continue as they are with Max Verstappen and Perez completing their line-up for 2025.
Max’s contract is reported to last until the end of 2028, and if his recent performance in Brazil is anything to go by, we can assume his position is safe for the foreseeable as he enters his tenth year with the team.
Perez is currently still contracted as a Red Bull driver for 2025, and, at the moment, looks set to continue his run with the team into next year.
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Williams – Alex Albon & Carlos Sainz
Williams are facing another shake-up in 2025. While Franco Colapinto currently drives alongside Alex Albon, he’s only in to replace Sargeant for the remaining races this season. When we go lights-out in Australia early next year, the pairing is set to change once again.
Carlos Sainz will be the driver who takes the second seat alongside Albon, after being replaced at Ferrari by Lewis Hamilton. With a ‘multi-year’ contract announced for the Spanish racer in July, Carlos looks committed to Williams’ future as a team pushing back up the order.
As for Albon, he signed an extension on his contract in May, so will be on the grid next year alongside his new teammate.
Is that it?
We’ve still got one more seat to officially declare, but if this season in Formula 1 is anything to go by, we’re likely not done there. Plenty of rumours are circulating about further driver changes, even among those with fresh contracts - and the Red Bull team, well known for their last-minute driver switches, are still the topic of conversation.
