Silly Season is Here: Ricciardo Triggers Driver Market Chaos.
A look at proposed moves in the Driver Market for 2019.
It is with a great surprise and somewhat a sense of sadness that I find myself writing about the exit of Daniel Ricciardo from Red Bull, something I thought wouldn’t happen, but here we are. Announcing today that he will leave the team at the end of this year it was quickly confirmed that Renault F1 team have acquired the services of the 29-year-old from Perth, Australia. However, as we have seen so many times with big name switches in Formula 1, it will impact many drivers and their futures within the sport. Below is a handful of drivers this very switch may impact and a look at what could possibly be in store for them for 2019 and beyond, as well as other drivers that could possibly be on the move for other reasons.
1. Carlos Sainz Jr.
Like Ricciardo, Carlos Sainz has been associated with Red Bull for many of his years in junior categories as well as during his Formula 1 career. The son of the two times Spanish WRC champion Carlos Sainz Sr has been relatively good since his F1 debut with Toro Rosso in 2015, who he drove for until he was loaned by Red Bull to Renault in late 2017, replacing the struggling Jolyon Palmer. It has been reported but not yet officially confirmed by Renault that Ricciardo is to partner Sainz’s team mate Nico Hulkenberg for 2019, meaning that there is a good chance Sainz will also be on the move. Rumours in recent weeks was that he was an option for McLaren to possibly partner Fernando Alonso next year, but now it could be a big possibility that Red Bull will bring back Sainz, swapping him for Ricciardo and put him alongside Max Verstappen for next year.
2. Pierre Gasly.
Another driver from the Red Bull stable, Gasly was the person to replace Sainz after his departure from Toro Rosso in 2017, and so far, has impressed in a somewhat important season for Red Bull, the first that one of their teams has ran a Honda power unit. Gasly has impressed so far in 2018, with a 4th in Bahrain and a 6th in Hungary, but I personally don’t believe he has the experience yet to drive for the top team. It could be that Red Bull could choose Gasly in a Verstappen style move, and as well as Gasly already being familiar to the Honda unit he could prove a good option for the team in 2019 from a car development and setup point of view, one driver so far definitely in the running for that second seat.
3. Stoffel Vandoorne.
Not a driver that’s particularly affected by Ricciardo’s move to Renault, but there have been rumours circulating that Sainz could be a potential candidate for the seat in 2019 as mentioned, as well as McLaren’s Lando Norris making a name for himself, winning last year’s Formula 3 title and doing well so far in F2 could also be a worry for Vandoorne. Good results have been somewhat hard to find for the Belgian so far this year and has been so far unable to match teammate Fernando Alonso consistently. Vandoorne must make sure that he improves in the second half of the season to impress people like Zak Brown and new Sporting Director Gil De Farran and convince them to let him drive for 2019 or he could face not having a drive anywhere for next year.
4. Charles Leclerc.
The current Formula 2 champion has really impressed since debuting for Sauber in Australia earlier in the year. A constant string of Q3 appearances as well as top 10 finishes has tipped him to be the person to replace Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari next year, but I think this is possibly too soon to promote Leclerc due to Ferrari always preferring to sign drivers with a lot more experience and time in F1. Possibly I can see Leclerc either staying another year at Sauber or moving to fellow Ferrari engine customers Haas for next year with the intention of Leclerc possibly replacing Raikkonen for 2020.
5. Esteban Ocon.
Ocon has done well in his now two years of racing in Formula One and could be a driver that we could possibly lose from the grid in 2019. Prior to Ricciardo’s signing with Renault, there was word of Ocon making a possible return to the French team. However now this looks far less likely, with Valtteri Bottas now signed for 2019 with Mercedes (Which Ocon is part of the junior team.) as well as the financial problems that are occurring within Force India at the moment there could very well be no drive available for Ocon next year, as well as his team mate Sergio Perez for that matter.
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Comments (2)
I often hear that It’s too soon to promote LeClerq to Ferrari. I disagree. If he’s quick in a Sauber he can be quick in a Ferrari. He’s learned his trade in the lower categories and he clearly has talent. Verstappen was brought into Red Bull (probably too soon) but LeClerq is a different beast. It would be a mistake to keep him out of the Ferrari. My bet is that is exactly where he’s going.
I would like to see Stoff go to Red Bull. Unfortunately, his talent is being wasted at McLaren. Replace his #2 seat at McLaren with Lando Norris.