By Erin Arends
Lewis Hamilton at the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after news of his transfer has
dropped via Getty Images.
Silly Season is the most anticipated time of the Formula 1 season as it is loved by a huge
number of its fans. The term is used amongst F1 fans when referring to the driver market.
Throughout the year, fans eagerly wait to hear the news on whether their favourite drivers
will be resigning with their current teams or making the decision to move to another team.
For many drivers, Silly Season can be quite stressful as this is the time when they are
scurrying to sign a contract which gains them a spot on the Formula 1 grid for the upcoming
year.
The 2023-24 Silly Season was one of the quietest periods ever as there were no changes
made to the grid. However, the 2024-25 Silly Season started off strong with Lewis Hamilton
announcing that he will be leaving his long-time seat at Mercedes to join Ferrari for the
2025 season. The seven-time F1 World Champion has been with Mercedes for 11 years and
was a major contributor to Mercedes’ dominance from 2014 to 2021. In addition to this
news, Ferrari became one of two teams with a complete driver lineup for 2025 after having
Charles Leclerc sign a long-term contract with the prancing horses.
Over at Mclaren, team principal, Andreas Stella, has full faith in his current team having
both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri signing multi-year contracts which keep them in the
team for several seasons to come. The Norris-Piastri duo might be Mclaren’s strongest
lineup in a while with Norris giving the team their first win since Monza 2021 at the 2024
Miami Grand Prix. Oscar Piastri has also shown great potential with the rookie hauling in a
great number of points as well as picking up a few podiums along the way.
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri scoring a double podium at the 2023 Japan Grand
Prix via Getty Images.
Red Bull Racing’s dominance has been one that cannot be overlooked with Max Verstappen
earning three F1 World Championships with the team. As his teammate, Sergio Perez’s two-
year contract comes to an end at the end of the season the question of everyone’s mind is
whether he will resign or will Red Bull start looking for other options. Perez’s performance in
the 2023 season was not up to Red Bull’s standards and if it is replicated this year, it would
make it difficult for Red Bull to retain the Mexican. As it stands, it remains a mystery as to
who will secure the second Red Bull seat as there are multiple contenders. F1 fans around
the world will be keeping a close eye on who will obtain the spot alongside the reigning
world champion.
After opening up a spot on the grid next to George Russell, many will be wondering who will
take up the very difficult task of replacing Lewis Hamilton. Mercedes have the option of
either going for experience or throwing all their cards on the table by allowing a rookie
driver to make their F1 debut. Despite being in his early 40s, two-time F1 World Champion,
Fernando Alonso has been the star at Aston Martin for the last two years and with his 20-
plus years of experience in the sport he is sure to help revive Mercedes back to their glory
days. In the case of a long-term deal, Mercedes has potential in 17-year-old Andrea Kimi
Antonelli who has made his Formula 2 debut this year. The safest bet, it seems to be, could
lie in the hands of Carlos Sainz who, due to Hamilton’s departure, is a free agent.
In August 2022, Audi announced that they would be rejoining the F1 grid in 2026 and would
completely be taking over Kick Sauber, previously known as Alfa Romeo, on the grid. Kick
Sauber has put their trust in the three-year partnership of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu
who have shown to make no difference in terms of results. In the past few weeks, it was
announced that Nico Hulkenberg, currently driving for Haas F1 team, would be joining Kick
Sauber in 2025 which marks the start of Audi’s rebuild. The combination of race-winning
experience in Bottas and a newfound potential in Zhou would leave Kick Sauber with the
choice of who will race alongside Hulkenberg next season.
Nico Hulkenberg caught before qualifying at the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix via Getty
Images.
The 2024 Silly Season has just begun and yet it has been the silliest it has been in years.
Everyone in the F1 world will be eagerly awaiting the news on what is to follow in the
months to come.
what a fabulous article!🤭