Two races into the 2016 Formula One season, “silly season” is already in full swing as a lot of the drivers are out of contract at the end of this year.
Unlike 2015 where a lot of rumours resulted in little movement, around 75 per cent of the grid will be after new deals at the end of this year. Two of the drivers in that percentage are Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg and Ferrari’s Kimi Räikkönen, and it is their two seats that are fuelling most of the speculation.
As was the case last year, it is assumed that Daniel Ricciardo, Valtteri Bottas and Nico Hulkenberg will all be linked to take the Ferrari seat again this year as it could be Räikkönen’s last year of racing. The Finn has said that he is prepared for the rumours this year, having experienced them last, and is not going to let them affect his focus on track.
As calm and relaxed as Christian Horner is in keeping Daniel Ricciardo, the Australian may have ideas of his own. He has been reported claiming that he would be happy to take on a Ferrari seat next year and join forces with ex-teammate Sebastian Vettel who he made a showing of in 2014. Alan Jones has also tipped the 26-year-old Australian to head to Ferrari. With Ricciardo potentially on the move, this would leave a seat open at Red Bull, maybe seeing one of the two junior drivers promoted up into the senior team.
Rosberg’s contract ends this year but it is assumed he will be looking to renew it at some point during the season. With such a competitive car and with the 2017 regulation overhaul not looking to have as big of an impact as first anticipated it is going to be the seat to watch.
Although Fernando Alonso has stated loyalty to seeing out his two remaining years on his McLaren contract another torrid season from the Woking-outlet could see the Spaniard seek a more competitive car. This would then leave a space at McLaren Honda which could easily be filled by 2015 GP2 Champion Stoffel Vandoorne.
These rumours leave the potential of a whole new McLaren Honda line up for the 2017 season, with Jenson Button out of contract at the end of the year too. He, along with Alonso and Räikkönen, could be on the way out of the sport as their contracts come to termination, with the three of them being the oldest drivers on the grid.
Felipe Massa’s contract also expires at the end of the season and if he will seek a contract renewal or a new team is unknown. Claire Williams has put on the record that her team will not be deciding on their lineup for 2017 until at least summer.
Another team that could see a complete change in lineup is Renault. With both drivers on single year contracts Renault has left itself with the option to pick up on aspiring GP2 drivers for the next season.
Canadian Nicholas Latifi has recently been signed by Renault as a test driver and will take on a similar role to what Palmer did last year. With GP3 Champion Esteban Ocon also in the wings, could it be another one-year wonder for Kevin Magnussen, or will the current pairing be promising enough for Renault to keep them on for a second year?
As the season is still yet to begin all of the transfer rumours are unfounded and potentially false. But one thing can be assured; with so many drivers out of contracts at the end of the, year it’s going to be an intriguing “silly season” for fans, drivers, and teams alike.
