F1 Driver Roundabout Roundup

Haas

Leclerc has impressed for a poor Sauber team

If Leclerc goes to Ferrari then it is unlikely Raikkonen would be up for a seat in a midfield team, leaving the second Haas seat open. Of course, it is possible that Haas could keep on both of their current drivers, Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean, but Magnussen has consistently outperformed his more experienced teammate and they may feel like it isn't too much of a risk to replace the accident-prone Frenchman with one of F1's greatest up and coming prospects.

Antonio Giovinazzi is the other driver in Ferrari's Junior Program and has already been test driver for Haas on a number of occasions. He will be looking to make the step up into the main category soon, and Haas (or Sauber) seem like his most obvious route into F1.

Another option for the American team would be to sign Esteban Ocon, who looks set to be pushed out of Force India, being replaced by Williams driver Lance Stroll, son of Lawrence Stroll, who led the consortium that saved the team from the brink of administration earlier on this season. But Haas may not fancy Ocon due to his ties to Mercedes, whose Junior Program he is currently signed to.

McLaren and Renault also cited this as a reason for not pursuing the youngster more extensively. The issue for him being that Valtteri Bottas is already signed on at Mercedes, limiting his upward trajectory, so he may be forced to spend a year on the sidelines in 2019 while they decide whether they want him to replace Bottas.

Another possibility is Williams, who have two open seats, but he may not fancy joining a team who are very much in the doldrums at the moment, and don't look like improving.