The F1 driver market has been a hive of activity over the last six months, creating a dramatically different looking grid for the up-coming season.
Some drivers have left the sport, while others have retained their paddock passes with a reserve or test role. There are also a few fresh faces as well. Here is a look at who is in, out and clinging on to Formula 1 in 2014.
We have seen plenty of movement, with Mark Webber's exit being the most high profile. The ex-Red Bull Racing driver was one of the few to leave at the end of 2013. However, his decision to join Porsche and its LMP1 programme was his own. The Aussie wanted a new challenge and a better work/private life balance, and he has got that with his new job.
He has been replaced by former HRT and Toro Rosso racer Daniel Ricciardo, a fellow Australian with plenty of potential. The 24-year-old has made the jump from a midfield outfit to the current team to beat in 2014.
Speaking of the midfield, it is an all-new line-up at Force India. Paul di Resta was left without a drive and is now out of F1 – for now anyway. He recently announced that he will return to the DTM series with Mercedes-Benz.
The Scot didn’t do a bad job last season, but it wasn’t a particularly stand-out campaign either. Force India saw more potential in the two drivers that they signed, so he was left trying to cling on to the sport. It didn’t go to plan but reports suggest he could make a return to the paddock as a reserve driver for Mercedes. We will have to wait and see on that one.
Charles Pic’s future in F1 looks similarly unclear, but there are reserve driver possibilities. The Frenchman had a rather anonymous 2013 season and has been replaced at Caterham by Kamui Kobayashi.
The Japanese driver has returned to the sport this year after being forced to watch from the side-lines in 2013. He is renowned for his aggressive driving style, providing excitement and going for the smallest of gaps.
He will be partnered by Marcus Ericsson, who has replaced Giedo van der Garde. The Swedish driver spent the last four years in GP2 with a handful of good results, but brings a heavy amount of sponsorship to the team. Don’t get me wrong, he is fast, but after so long in the feeder series directly below F1 without challenging for a world title, he has a lot to prove.
This also means Heikki Kovalainen, who was Caterham’s reserve driver in 2013 and replaced Kimi Raikkonen at Lotus for the final two races of the year, has lost out on a race seat once again. His future remains uncertain, as he refuses to bring sponsorship or funding to potential teams.
Giedo van der Garde has been left clinging on to the sport with a reserve role at Sauber. Now he has the chance to – on occasion – drive a car from an established midfield runner, but he could find it difficult to secure a race seat in 2015 with Sergey Sirotkin also waiting in the wings.
There are three rookies on the 2014 grid. Ericsson, as I mentioned two paragraphs ago, has joined Caterham and Daniil Kvyat has filled Ricciardo’s vacant Toro Rosso seat. The Russian driver won the GP3 title last year and has plenty of potential, impressing during two first practice outings at the end of last year.
However, some have questioned why Red Bull decided to promote him to an F1 drive straight from GP3, with one or two seasons in GP2 or Formula Renault 3.5 being the more common route to motorsport’s pinnacle.
I don’t see it being a particular problem and winter testing will prepare him well for the year ahead. He is certainly one to watch in the future, as is the third and final rookie: Kevin Magnussen. The Danish racer graduates from the McLaren Young Driver Programme and will become the first driver since Lewis Hamilton to debut for the Woking-based outfit.
He took the Formula Renault 3.5 series title last year and is another very exciting driver for the future. He has a great and experienced team-mate to learn from and the new regulations will level the playing field for everyone. With so much change in 2014, I really can't predict anything other than the fact that it will be a truly thrilling season.
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| © Octane Photographic |
Some drivers have left the sport, while others have retained their paddock passes with a reserve or test role. There are also a few fresh faces as well. Here is a look at who is in, out and clinging on to Formula 1 in 2014.
We have seen plenty of movement, with Mark Webber's exit being the most high profile. The ex-Red Bull Racing driver was one of the few to leave at the end of 2013. However, his decision to join Porsche and its LMP1 programme was his own. The Aussie wanted a new challenge and a better work/private life balance, and he has got that with his new job.
He has been replaced by former HRT and Toro Rosso racer Daniel Ricciardo, a fellow Australian with plenty of potential. The 24-year-old has made the jump from a midfield outfit to the current team to beat in 2014.
Speaking of the midfield, it is an all-new line-up at Force India. Paul di Resta was left without a drive and is now out of F1 – for now anyway. He recently announced that he will return to the DTM series with Mercedes-Benz.
 |
| © Octane Photographic |
Charles Pic’s future in F1 looks similarly unclear, but there are reserve driver possibilities. The Frenchman had a rather anonymous 2013 season and has been replaced at Caterham by Kamui Kobayashi.
The Japanese driver has returned to the sport this year after being forced to watch from the side-lines in 2013. He is renowned for his aggressive driving style, providing excitement and going for the smallest of gaps.
He will be partnered by Marcus Ericsson, who has replaced Giedo van der Garde. The Swedish driver spent the last four years in GP2 with a handful of good results, but brings a heavy amount of sponsorship to the team. Don’t get me wrong, he is fast, but after so long in the feeder series directly below F1 without challenging for a world title, he has a lot to prove.
This also means Heikki Kovalainen, who was Caterham’s reserve driver in 2013 and replaced Kimi Raikkonen at Lotus for the final two races of the year, has lost out on a race seat once again. His future remains uncertain, as he refuses to bring sponsorship or funding to potential teams.
Giedo van der Garde has been left clinging on to the sport with a reserve role at Sauber. Now he has the chance to – on occasion – drive a car from an established midfield runner, but he could find it difficult to secure a race seat in 2015 with Sergey Sirotkin also waiting in the wings.
 |
| © Octane Photographic |
However, some have questioned why Red Bull decided to promote him to an F1 drive straight from GP3, with one or two seasons in GP2 or Formula Renault 3.5 being the more common route to motorsport’s pinnacle.
I don’t see it being a particular problem and winter testing will prepare him well for the year ahead. He is certainly one to watch in the future, as is the third and final rookie: Kevin Magnussen. The Danish racer graduates from the McLaren Young Driver Programme and will become the first driver since Lewis Hamilton to debut for the Woking-based outfit.
He took the Formula Renault 3.5 series title last year and is another very exciting driver for the future. He has a great and experienced team-mate to learn from and the new regulations will level the playing field for everyone. With so much change in 2014, I really can't predict anything other than the fact that it will be a truly thrilling season.
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