Silly Season: Ten F1 seats still available for 2017

The Formula 1 Silly Season has exploded to life with ten seats yet to confirmed for the 2017 season, we take a look at who might go where but knowing the nature big the business we know there will be some surprises.

With Nico Hulkenberg being confirmed by Renault as their driver for 2017, one seat was filled but the door to a Force India drive swung open.

Most recently Red Bull confirmed Daniil Kvyat will stay with Toro Rosso, alongside Carlos Sainz, for another year. Filling that cockpit and at the same time possibly putting Pierre Gasly’s F1 plans on hold.

Nevertheless there are still ten available seats at the moment, these are: one each at Renault and Force India as well as both seats at Williams, Sauber, Manor and Haas.

From information we have this is how things stand at the moment:

Williams

Arguably two of the most coveted seats available are with Williams. With Felipe Massa leaving the team, it is very likely that Canadian teenager Lance Stroll will replace the veteran Brazilian.

Valtteri Bottas is expected to stay with Williams and they sure need him to guide the young teenager and also spearhead the team’s effort, but until that is confirmed Renault remains an option for the Finn.

Should Bottas move elsewhere then there will be a host of candidates keen to do a deal with Felipe Nasr apparently on the list thanks to his Banco do Brasil backing. He was also a reserve driver with the team in 2014. His current Sauber teammate Marcus Ericsson should also be a candidate with the sponsorship that he brings to the table.

But will Williams risk pairing an inexperienced driver to partner a rookie? If they do then why not Pascal Wehrlein who would bring his Mercedes muscle along with him? Toto Wolff is a big fan of the young German and as a former shareholder he has history with the Grove outfit.

Renault

In terms of a long term deal Renault, as a works effort with great F1 pedigree, is surely the hottest ticket going for a driver. Nico Hulkenberg seems to think so and has committed two to three years with the French team.

They in turn are hunting another ‘big’ driver and Bottas is said to be a top priority for the team, but the Finn is requesting a one year deal as apparently he has an option to join Ferrari in 2018 when fellow countryman Kimi Raikkonen is set to retire. Problem for Bottas is that Renault (and Williams for that matter) are not interested in a one year deal.

As team chief Frederic Vasseur recently mentioned, every driver in F1 has been linked with his team. If they do not secure Bottas’ services, they can choose from a pool of talented Frenchman including Jean Eric Vergne if they want more experience alongside Hulkenberg, while young gun Esteban Ocon is certainly being considered, as will be Gasly since his Toro Rosso plans went south.

Force India

With Hulkenberg departing the team after five years, Force India is another attractive option with a seat available alongside Sergio Perez who is with the team for at least another year.

There are several drivers being considered, and those with money are surely top of the list for the outfit whose big chief Vijay Mallya is drowning in a financial quagmire which won’t go away.

Alfonso Celis, who did FP1 for the team in Austin, has been added to the list of candidates which include the likes of Pascal Wherlein, Jolyon Palmer and Ocon.

Contracting Celis will make it an all Mexican driver line-up, which tallies with talk that billionaire Carlos Slim is seriously considering buying the Silverstone outfit and re-brand it as an all-Mexican project.

Should Force Mexico be a mere pipe-dream, then Wherlein is ripe for promotion to a midfield team and Force India, as a Mercedes engine, partner would fit the bill.

Haas

Romain Grosjean is more thank likely set to remain with Haas, despite whispers of a Renault approach to their former driver – one they nurtured through the junior categories.

His current teammate Esteban Gutierrez has not really impressed the American team or the F1 paddock this season. He was not very good in his debut season with Sauber and his sabbatical last year as a Ferrari test driver did little to raise his shares. The Mexican’s only saving grace is the money bags he has with him thanks to his backers.

Magnussen could find his way into the team if Gutierrez goes, while a young American may also be considered in the light of increasing noises being made back home that it would be good for the team to nurture some homegrown talent.

Sauber

Monisha Kaltenborn has made no secret of the fact that Sauber will be seeking two pay drivers for 2017. Of their current duo, Ericsson is probably most likely to stay with the team as he is connected to the Swiss team’s saviours Longbow Finance.

But the biggest cheque book, regardless of talent is likely to be high on Kaltenborn’s agenda, which in turn will attract a queue of well heeled wannabe F1 drivers to Hinwill, where they might bump into the likes of well backed Sergey Sirotkin or Ferrari protege Charles Leclerc even Palmer.

Watch this space!

2017 Teams & Drivers

No.	Driver’s Name	Team Name	Engine
44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team	Mercedes
6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team	Mercedes
3	Daniel Ricciardo	Infiniti Red Bull Racing	TAG-Heuer
33	Max Verstappen	Infiniti Red Bull Racing	TAG-Heuer
	TBC	Williams Martini Racing	Mercedes
	TBC	Williams Martini Racing	Mercedes
5	Sebastien Vettel	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari
7	Kimi Raikkonen	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari
14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren Honda	Honda
47	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren Honda	Honda
	TBC	Sahara Force India F1 Team	Mercedes
11	Sergio Perez	Sahara Force India F1 Team	Mercedes
26	Daniil Kvyat	Scuderia Toro Rosso	Ferrari
55	Carlos Sainz	Scuderia Toro Rosso	Ferrari
27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	Renault
	TBC	Renault	Renault
	TBC	Sauber F1 Team	Ferrari
	TBC	Sauber F1 Team	Ferrari
	TBC	Manor F1 Team	Mercedes
	TBC	Manor F1 Team	Mercedes
	TBC	Haas F1 Team	Ferrari
	TBC	Haas F1 Team	Ferrari

 

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