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Contracts for nearly half the drivers on the 2022 F1 grid are set to expire at the end of the much-awaited season. At least one driver from every single team except Mercedes and McLaren currently has only a single year on their contract. This means the 2022 silly season is set to be extremely exciting and unquestionably eventful.
Alex Albon will be returning to F1 this year on a one-year contract with Williams. The Thai-British driver will be getting a second shot at proving his talent on track after spending a year without a seat in 2021. His team-mate at Williams, Nicholas Latifi, also has his contract ending next year. Meanwhile, Chinese racing driver Guanyu Zhou will be making his debut in F1 with a similar contract at Alfa Romeo, replacing Antonio Giovinazzi, whose contract expired in 2021. Zhou too will certainly take this season to prove his worth with one year in hand.
Both Alpha Tauri drivers Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda will be out of contract by the end of the 2022 season if not renewed. Gasly was certainly looking to be promoted to Red Bull sooner, given some mega drives all year long. Tsunoda, on the other hand, was surprised, to say the least, to get an extension for 2022 after having had an inconsistent rookie year.
Contracts for Fernando Alonso, Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez will also be expiring at the end of next season. All three drivers have played a significant role in bringing their respective teams to where they stood at the end of 2021. Alonso took his first podium in seven years in Qatar along with many commendable performances throughout the season. This ensured his team, Alpine F1, came on top in the midfield constructor battle against Alpha Tauri. Meanwhile Sainz, to everyone's surprise, finished the year ahead of his team-mate with four podiums for Ferrari. Perez, too, played the role of the perfect wingman, significantly helping team-mate Max Verstappen in the latter's ultimately successful fight for the championship. So it won't be a surprise if these three drivers have their contracts renewed.
On the other end of the spectrum, Haas rookie Mick Schumacher will also be out of contract by the end of the upcoming season. After being signed up by the team as a reserve driver, the German definitely has his eyes set on a Ferrari seat in the years to come.
Teams place faith in new generation of F1 drivers with several multi-year deals
Teams such as McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull have placed immense faith in the likes of Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc and George Russell, expecting them to take their team to the next level.
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc was rewarded by the team for his form in the 2019 season with a five-year contract — the longest on the grid. This sees him driving for the Prancing Horse until 2024.
Speaking about the multi-year contract, Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto told Formula1.com:
“With each passing race this year, our wish to extend our contract with Charles became ever more self-evident and the decision means he will now be with us for the next five seasons. It demonstrates that Charles and the Scuderia have a firm future together.”
The Maranello-based team is not traditionally known to go for a very young driver line-up. So the announcement of a five-year contract with the Monegasque took the F1 community by shock.
