Who is a certainty and who should fear for spot on grid in 2024 season

It is summer break, and so there is much speculation about who will be in which seat next year. A number of spots are already certain, but some teams have not yet secured a single driver for 2024. Check out the preliminary standings below.

Verstappen remains at Red Bull

At Red Bull, Verstappen is a certainty. The Dutchman is almost certainly going to be world champion, and he has a contract until 2028. Sergio Perez also has a contract for next season, and for now there are no very specific rumours of a departure. 100% sure it is not, but for now he has a contract.

F1 teams that are (as good as) certain

At Aston Martin, Ferrari, McLaren and Alpine, all drivers also still have contracts for next season. Especially at Aston Martin, McLaren and Alpine, the line-up therefore seems to be certain. At Ferrari, there are many rumours about a Sainz departure. The Spaniard is said to have been in contact with Audi, and could possibly move to Alfa Romeo next year, which will again run under the Sauber name until Audi steps in in 2026.

At Mercedes, it also seems clear who will drive next year. George Russell still has a contract, and according to Toto Wolff, negotiations with Lewis Hamilton are also as good as concluded.

F1 teams where line-up still unknown

At Williams and Alfa Romeo, there is no certainty yet. Albon still has a contract at Williams next year, so looks set to stay here. Whether Logan Sargeant will still drive next year, or whether it will be someone else is still unknown. At Alfa Romeo, Bottas still has a contract for next year, but Zhou has to hope for a longer stay in Formula 1 for the time being.

The teams where nothing at all is known yet are Haas and AlphaTauri. Nico Hulkenberg is doing very well at Haas, and so expectations are also that he will stay. Nothing is yet known about a longer stay for Kevin Magnussen. At AlphaTauri, everything is still uncertain. What will happen to Ricciardo is unknown, and whether Tsunoda will stay also remains to be seen. Red Bull junior Liam Lawson is doing incredibly well in Super Formula, and would have a great chance of getting a seat. Will someone be sacrificed, or will Lawson not get a chance in Formula 1 after all?