F1 Silly Season Shapes 2023 Grid

Silly season has started with a bang in Formula One! This is the time of year when some of the drivers’ contracts expire, and the annual game of musical chairs begins. In this blog post, let’s look at the key players involved in this year’s silly season and what might happen next.

Alonso replaces Vettel

Sebastian Vettel’s retirement announcement created an opening at Aston Martin, with everyone speculating about the new driver. After the Hungarian GP, news broke that the four-time world champion would be replaced by the two-time world champion.

On Monday, Alonso announced that he would take the German’s place at the Aston Martin F1 Team on a multi-year contract.

Nobody in the paddock foresaw the change because Mick Schumacher was thought to be the clear favourite to succeed his “mentor.”

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Alpine – Piastri Drama

Due to an unexpected opening at the Alpine F1 Team, the French team swiftly announced that reserve driver Oscar Piastri would be promoted and would compete alongside Esteban Ocon in 2023.

Piastri was unaware of this and tweeted a few hours later that he disagreed with Alpine and would not be racing for them in the upcoming season.

Many are now led to think that Piastri and McLaren have a deal in place for Piastri to take Daniel Ricciardo’s seat.

However, Ricciardo is still under contract with the Woking-based team until 2023, so the 33-year-old Australian would need a guaranteed place elsewhere to break his binding agreement.

I understand that, without my agreement, Alpine F1 have put out a press release late this afternoon that I am driving for them next year. This is wrong and I have not signed a contract with Alpine for 2023. I will not be driving for Alpine next year.
— Oscar Piastri (@OscarPiastri) August 2, 2022

Albon signs a multi-year contract with Williams

Alex Albon is one driver whose position is unquestionably reserved for 2023. Williams announced a new multi-year contract for 2023 the 26-year-old on Wednesday.

Albon acknowledged that the agreement was legitimate and that he had been involved in its development in a playful homage to the Alpine-Piastri debacle.

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I understand that, with my agreement, Williams Racing have put out a press release this afternoon that I am driving for them next year. This is right and I have signed a contract with Williams for 2023. I will be driving for Williams next year.

😂 let’s gooo @williamsracing 💪 pic.twitter.com/NNljcXOieE
— Alex Albon (@alex_albon) August 3, 2022

F1 2023: currently confirmed drivers

The drivers for the top three teams, Red Bull, Ferrari, and Mercedes, are set for the next season. However, this summer, there could be further modifications further down the grid.

There are still spots available at Williams, Scuderia AlphaTauri, Alfa Romeo F1 Team and Haas F1 Team.

Alfa Romeo is expected to extend a contract to rookie Guanyu Zhou after the Chinese driver’s outstanding debut season in Formula 1.

Yuki Tsunoda, a Japanese driver who has occasionally displayed strong performance this season but still struggles with consistency, is also anticipated to stay with AlphaTauri.

Schumacher’s best opportunity to stay in the sport now that he’s missed out on the Aston Martin seat is probably to stay at Haas. The young German driver has improved significantly since earning his maiden F1 points.

That leaves Williams, who have been linked with several drivers, to replace Nicholas Latifi.