Having passed the half way point in the season, teams and drivers are beginning to focus their attention on 2017. Just 3 teams – Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull – have confirmed their driver line-ups for next year so many seats are still on offer. More experienced drivers such as Massa and Button risk losing their seats to bright new talent from the ranks of GP2.
Mercedes
Confirmed – Hamilton and Rosberg
Lewis Hamilton has a contract with the team until 2018 and Mercedes confirmed in July that they have extended Rosberg’s contract for another two years, leaving no free seats at the team currently dominating the championship.
Red Bull
Confirmed – Verstappen and Ricciardo
After the mid-season driver change, in which Red Bull swapped Ricciardo and Verstappen, the team have decided to retain the Dutch teenager for 2017. Ricciardo also has a contract next year, hoping for a more competitive car which will allow him to challenge for the title.
Ferrari
Confirmed – Vettel and Raikkonen
Earlier in the season Raikkonen’s future at the team looked uncertain, with the team stating his results in the next races would determine his future at the team. However, just as speculation began about his potential replacement, the team announced he would be retained for another season – alongside Sebastian Vettel for a third year.
Williams
Both seats available
Current drivers, Bottas and Massa both have contracts running out at the end of the season, leaving free seats potentially available at the team.
Williams have expressed interest in 2009 champion and current McLaren driver Jenson Button, whose McLaren contact expiring at the end of this season. However, reserve drivers Paul Di Resta and GP2 driver Alex Lynn, are also strong options.
Force India
Confirmed – Hulkenberg
With Hulkenberg’s future confirmed at the team for 2017, his teammate Perez looks set for a potential change. Having already finished on the podium twice so far this year, his strong form could see a move to Williams although Renault also are expressing interest in the Mexican driver.
Toro Rosso
Confirmed – Sainz
Sainz will remain at Toro Rosso next season, despite this being his third season with the team. Usually, the team will keep a driver for only a single season or two before moving them up to the senior Red Bull team or dropping them. However, his performance has been so strong they want to keep him in the team, but they have no free seats in the senior team such is the quality of their current driver line up.
After being dropped from Red Bull and demoted to the junior team, Kvyat has since had a drop in confidence and his results show this. Since making the move to Toro Rosso he has been out qualified 6-2 by Sainz and failed to beat him in a race which both drivers have finished. So his future at the team looks uncertain with Pierre Gasly a strong option for replacement, currently second in GP2.
McLaren
Confirmed – Alonso
With Alonso confirmed already for next season, the fight for the second seat at McLaren remains. Button and Vandoorne are the two candidates who could receive the drive, Button showing off a strong career record as one of the most experienced drivers on the grid.
However, GP2 champion from 2015, Vandoorne is an exciting young driver with lots of potential. In addition to this, he scored a point on his debut earlier this season when he replaced Alonso in Bahrain after the Spaniard’s crash in the previous race.
Haas
Both seats available
Grosjean has been the stronger driver in the team this season, scoring all the points as Gutierrez faced technical issues. Grosjean will be hoping to stay in the team, who have strong links with Ferrari, in the hope he can replace Raikkonen at the end of 2017. Despite many technical issues, Gutierrez has had some stronger races, finishing 11th four times. However, Charles Leclerc, currently leading the GP3 championship could be a potential replacement.
Renault
Both seats available
Renault have not yet confirmed whether the pairing of Palmer and Magnussen will remain for 2017. Drivers such as Perez, Massa, Bottas and Sainz have all been linked to the French team with all four with contracts expiring at the end of the season. Replacing Haryanto at Manor for the remainder of this season, Ocon is also a strong option for the Renault team especially if he has strong showing in his races at Manor.
Manor
Both seats available
Wehrlein has performed well in his first F1 season, scoring a point for Manor in Austria. With strong links to the Mercedes team, he will hope to remain in Manor next season in the hope he could be promoted to the Silver Arrows in the future when their current drivers’ contracts expire. However, with no free seats at the team until 2019 he may make a move to another team, Force India a potential option if Perez leaves.
Ocon will be making his debut in Spa and his performance across the rest of the season will determine his future in the sport. Like Wehrlein, he is linked to the Mercedes team and has performed strongly in junior categories – beating Verstappen in F3 in 2014 to take the title.
Other options for the team include Haryanto, who was switched after last race due to lack of funding. Rossi is also a potential candidate, having driven for the team in 2015 and is currently having success in IndyCar.
Sauber
Both seats available
The team’s future has now been secured, meaning they will make it to next season after finding buyers. Their buyers reportedly have links with Ericsson’s sponsors, which could secure his future for next year. Nasr is also without a contract for next year and his future with the team looks uncertain.