My 2023 F1 Driver Predictions: Who Will be Driving Where?

Our 2023 grid is pretty up in the air at the minute, with 6 seats currently up for grabs. Silly season has only just begun, and with that, here are my predictions for who will be driving where in 2023.

Starting with the top 3 teams, I’m almost certain that Red Bull, Ferrari, and Mercedes will keep their driver line-ups. All three have incredibly strong pairings, with some drivers contracted for several more years to come, and it would take something pretty serious for any of them to change their line-ups.

Moving onto McLaren. All eyes have been on the papaya team this summer, what with the rumours surrounding Ricciardo being bought out, to the announcement that due to a mutual agreement, Ricciardo would indeed be leaving McLaren at the end of this season, a year earlier than his contract stated. Partnering Lando next year, I think will indeed be Oscar Piastri. It would be a gamble for McLaren to take on a rookie, giving the up and down season they’ve had thus far, however I think it’s one they’d be willing to take. With McLaren also joining Formula E next season, I think we could see a similar situation to Kimi Raïkönnen and Ferrari in 2009, whereby Ferrari ended the Finn’s contract one year early, yet he wasn’t allowed to join any other teams for 2010 otherwise Ferrari wouldn’t pay him the reported £20 million. Hence, Raïkönnen went to pursue a career in rallying and other motorsports before re-joining F1 in 2012. Therefore, McLaren will be wanting a strong start to their Formula E debut, and what better way than to have an 8-time Grand Prix winner racing one of your cars? The only question is whether Ricciardo would be willing to swap petrol for electric.

So, we can definitely rule out Oscar Piastri driving for Alpine next year, as he definitely denied the claims he would be racing for the French outfit next season. And seeing as Esteban Ocon is contracted to the team until 2024, I think he’s staying put for the time being. Now my original thoughts were that Ricciardo would be heading back to Alpine for 2023, but I’m leaning increasingly more towards the idea that Pierre Gasly will be taking that seat instead. Despite being contracted with AlphaTauri until the end of 2023, Gasly can still be bought out of his contract, and this seems evermore likely as Gasly was overheard to be discussing contracts last Thursday at Zandvoort. Now this would be a very strong lineup for Alpine, having two French drivers who have a win each and experience in the sport. However, it’s a known fact that Gasly and Ocon don’t really see eye to eye, and haven’t done since their karting days, and I’m not entirely sure how this icy relationship would affect things both on and off track.

A shock signing for Aston Martin will see two-time world champion Fernando Alonso wearing British racing green next season, partnering Lance Stroll. A bizarre move to most, Alonso signed with Aston Martin on a multi-year contract, with Stroll almost certainly staying at the team as long as his father is involved.

The ball is in anyone’s court down at Williams for 2023, with Alex Albon recently signing a multi-year contract with the team and Nicholas Latifi still yet to confirm anything for next year. Albon has had a very respectful start back to Formula 1, after not securing a drive for 2021 and racing in DTM instead. Currently, he is sat on 4 points with several close points finishes just outside the top 10. His teammate Nicholas Latifi has had a rather hit and miss season, and taking Hungary for example, he went P1 in FP3, yet had a DNF during the race. For Latifi, I think he’s had his time in the sport and I can’t see Williams signing him after 2022. I think the most likely placement would be Nyck De Vries, as the Dutch driver is already part of the Mercedes group, having won the 2021 Formula E World Championship with Mercedes EQ Formula E team as well as driving the Mercedes W-13 in FP1 in France this season. And with Mercedes leaving Formula E (or partnering up with McLaren and becoming a subsidiary of their FE team), De Vries is left without a drive for 2022, however he has been rumoured to be joining Maserati, who are joining the electric racing series for 2023. Another candidate could be American Formula 2 driver Logan Sargeant, who is currently sat third in the F2 Championship standings and is already part of the Williams Driver Academy. Sargeant is having an incredible campaign in F2 this season, especially as he is a rookie in the series, and it would make sense for him to progress again further within the same team. Not only this, but he is also making his FP1 debut with the team at the United States Grand Prix in October. Piastri has been possibly rumoured to drive, but I think that’s pretty unlikely, and we could also mention Belgian driver Stoffel Vandoorne. Vandoorne has recently won the 2022 Formula E World Championship also driving for Mercedes EQ, and, like his teammate, is left without a seat for 2023. Let’s not forget that he has had prior experience in F1, racing in both the 2017 and 2018 seasons, also making him a possible driver to take the seat. I would say that Williams have a lot of thinking to do, especially with how many drivers have the potential to take that second seat.

Now going down to AlphaTauri. If Pierre Gasly does move to a different team, that will open up both seats, and not just Yuki Tsunoda’s. Now I don’t see any reason why AlphaTauri would replace Tsunoda as both driver and team appear to get on well. However, Tsunoda is having a less than desirable season, as the car isn’t where anyone at AlphaTauri wants it to be. If AlphaTauri were to replace him, I think we could see Formula 2 driver Liam Lawson take up the seat, despite the New Zealander having already been confirmed as Red Bull reserve driver for 2023. Lawson is currently a test and reserve driver for AlphaTauri and recently completed an FP1 session with them in Spa. He has also competed in Formula 3 and DTM, and already being a part of the Red Bull family, it would absolute sense. If we’re going with bold predictions, then hear me out. Daniel Ricciardo to AlphaTauri. Now, I made a TikTok explaining why i think this could happen which you can check out right now (@inthepitsblog on TikTok), but long story short, prime Ricciardo was at Red Bull, and with AlphaTauri being a subsidiary to Red Bull, it could all be part of a master plan for the Aussie to head back to Red Bull for 2025 and win the World Championship. I’m just saying, never say never! Or we could even see Mick Schumacher taking the seat next year, and I’ll explain why a little further down.

Off to Alfa Romeo, and Valtteri Bottas is already on a multiyear contract with the team, meaning that he will be with them for 2023. Our only rookie for 2022, Zhou Guanyu, only signed a one-year contract with Alfa Romeo, however he’s definitely proving himself worthy of the seat, despite several mechanical DNFs and his horror crash at Silverstone. I think Bottas and Zhou also have a great dynamic, and I don’t see any reason why Alfa Romeo would get rid of Zhou.

And last but not least, Haas. Kevin Magnussen is already confirmed to be with the team for 2023, with Mick Schumacher out of contract. Now, one thing that makes this interesting is that Schumacher’s contract with the Ferrari Driver Academy ends at the end of this season, meaning he can now begin to look for teams not associated with Ferrari. Hence, why he could head to AlphaTauri for 2023, now he isn’t tied down by Ferrari contracts. I think a main contender for the Haas seat would be Antonio Giovinazzi. The Italian was out of a seat at the end of last season, but stayed on as a reserve driver for Ferrari for 2022 (this also includes being a reserve driver for Alfa Romeo and Haas, as per his contract). Giovinazzi is also taking part in practice sessions for Haas at the Italian and United States Grands Prix, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him take the second Haas seat for 2023, especially with Haas being one of Ferrari’s customer teams.

I think silly season is about to get a whole lot sillier, and I wonder whether any of my predictions will be right!