The three drivers out of contract at the end of the F1 2023 season

Editor 14 Sep 2023 10:10 AM

Yuki Tsunoda in the pit lane. Spielberg, Austria June 2023.

We may still be deep into the F1 2023 season, but already one eye is firmly on F1 2024 and which of the current drivers are still yet to technically secure their place on the grid.

目前有四个司机设置out of contract at the end of the F1 2023 campaign, meaning plenty of contract negotiations and team strategy meetings will be taking place over the current weeks and months.

Here is the full rundown of the drivers who will need to agree new terms if they want their F1 journey to continue for at least another season.

Logan Sargeant

Logan Sargeant became the first US driver on the F1 grid since 2015 and has made a solid, if not unspectacular start to life at Williams.

He may be overshadowed by Alex Albon, who is doing a fine job rebuilding his F1 career after his brutal axing from the Red Bull programme in 2020, but Sargeant appears to be doing just about enough to convince Williams boss James Vowles that he is worthy of a second season in Formula 1.

Watch this space.

Yuki Tsunoda

Outgoing AlphaTauri boss, Franz Tost, has previously said that a driver needs three full seasons in Formula 1 in order to fully get to grips with the sport. That’s not a luxury afforded to many, but Tost’s assessment is ringing true with Tsunoda.

After a rough, raw and sweary start to his F1 career, Tsunoda has slowly, but surely, become a model of consistency and a driver that the Red Bull programme can rely on, to the point where he could even have eyes on moving up to the senior Red Bull team when Sergio Perez’s contract actually expires at the end of the 2024 campaign.

At the very least, Tsunoda looks set to stay at AlphaTauri for one more season.

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Daniel Ricciardo

Well this happened sooner than expected, didn’t it? The Aussie was supposed to be taking a full year out of F1 this season but, due to the unconvincing performances of Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri, Ricciardo is back on the F1 grid after just 10 races away.

Red Bull made a point of mentioning that Ricciardo was merely ‘on loan’ to AlphaTauri until the end of the current season, sparking speculation about the true significance of his return.

Is he merely a stop-gap option as Red Bull assess the next driver to pluck from their conveyor belt of young talent? Or, is this an audition for Ricciardo to see if he is capable of replacing Perez for either F1 2024 or F1 2025? Maybe it’s both!