Driver changes for the 2022 F1 season

Sep.1 - At this stage, there have not been many changes to driver line-ups for 2022 but it’s still early on and there is a lot of time left for movement. There have been plenty of rumours, though, so we have taken a look at the biggest factors that could be a catalyst for driver changes for the coming season.

Betting odds

The odds are often a great way to get a handle on any changes that are likely to take place over the next season. It’s often said that the bookmakers have a lot of knowledge when it comes to what’s going to happen in the sporting world. The betting odds are telling us quite a few things about potential changes and we’ve looked at all of the top online betting apps to make sure that we have a good overview of what might happen.

What is impacting on the odds a lot at the moment is the driver selections for the AlphaTauri, Haas, Alfa Romeo and Williams teams. As they haven’t yet confirmed any of their driver choices, it means that there are lots of positions up for grabs. The odds are going wild and it does mean that there are many rumours out there right now.

Williams

Formerly one of the biggest names in Formula One, especially during the Damon Hill years, Williams has been struggling a bit recently. What is really driving the rumours behind Williams is what Mercedes chooses to do with George Russell. After being on loan at Williams, Russell performed to a high level, and the fact remains that Lewis Hamilton won’t be able to perform at his current level forever. He is, without a doubt, one of the best drivers of all time, but Russell has much more of his career ahead of him.

The current favourite to take the second driver spot at Mercedes is Bottas, but he too is already into his 30s, so he’s not the future of the company. It is possible that Mercedes will bring him back and keep Bottas as second driver, but Russell needs to be racing at this stage of his career in order to continue his development.

If Mercedes agree to send Russell out on loan again in 2022 then Williams will surely snap him up. However, one potential move could see Bottas return to Williams and Russell take his place at Mercedes. What would scupper this plan is that Hamilton has made it known he would prefer Bottas as his second, perhaps because he knows that he won’t be looking to usurp him in the same way that Russell would. Whatever happens, nothing has yet been decided.

Haas and Alfa Romeo

Mick Schumacher is the key player in the battle between Haas and Alfa Romeo. After making his debut with Haas, he has shown some potential and his family name obviously holds a lot of sway. However, it’s believed that Ferrari would prefer him to make the move from Haas to Alfa Romeo – perhaps due to the Alfa engine being closer to what Ferrari has to offer than what Haas has.

Antonio Giovinazzi

Alfa allowed both Raikkonen and Giovinazzi’s contracts to run out this year. However, this isn’t to say that they will definitely not re-sign. Just like with the George Russell situation, Bottas could also make his way to Haas or Alfa if he doesn’t stay with Mercedes. It’s currently a very complex situation that could see both Haas and Alfa Romeo fighting it out for the same drivers.

While it’s believed that Haas would like to keep the same drivers it had last season, that decision may be taken out of its hands in the future.

Drivers confirmed to be staying

 In what was possibly the most obvious announcement of the year, both Hamilton and Verstappen will be staying with their respective teams this year. Both drivers are contracted until 2023, so no movement is going to take place on that front. It’s also possible that they will both end up signing on for a further period at the end of their current contracts.

Since they are the two top drivers in the world at the moment, it’s not surprising that their teams want to keep them around. Apart from Hamilton and Verstappen, McLaren has confirmed that both of its drivers, Norris and Ricciardo, will be staying in place for next season. This does give McLaren a slight advantage, as they are able to begin planning efficiently right from the start.

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