Next F1 driver moves predicted after Carlos Sainz’s domino fall

The Formula 1 2025 silly season kicked off well before cars hit the track in 2024, and Carlos Sainz has been at the centre of those conversations ever since it was announced Lewis Hamilton would be taking his Ferrari seat.

With such a talented driver available for 2025, many teams held their breath waiting to sign any contracts — at least until they knew what Sainz was up to. Now that the Spanish racer has committed to Williams, these are the next silly season dominoes we expect to fall.

F1 driver predictions: Jack Doohan at Alpine

Esteban Ocon is out and Pierre Gasly is in at Alpine for 2025 — but who else will be joining the French Formula 1 outfit next year now that Sainz is out of the picture?

PlanetF1.com predicts we’ll see Jack Doohan, a current Alpine reserve driver, inherit the seat vacated by Ocon. Doohan has been a serious candidate for a seat all season thanks to his impressive junior series career.

Further, Alpine has been practically priming Doohan for the seat, offering him ample time behind the wheel of the current car during FP1 sessions, while also allowing him an opportunity to test old machinery and take on lots of simulator work.

Previous Alpine academy driver Oscar Piastri defected from the team in a big way to join McLaren, and it would be a boon to the French outfit to promote one of its young talents to a top-tier seat. Doohan has proved he’s fully prepared to take on the challenge — it’s just up to Alpine to trust him with it.

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F1 driver prediction: Valtteri Bottas stays at Sauber

Aside from Alpine, Carlos Sainz Jr. had been linked to one additional seat at Sauber, the team that will become Audi in 2026. Nico Hulkenberg has been confirmed at Sauber for 2025, but it’s currently unclear who will join him.

PlanetF1.com feels that Valtteri Bottas will remain with the team for 2025.

While Sainz was the hottest commodity on the driver market heading into 2025, the contractless Bottas wasn’t far behind.

He has the speed and reliability that will be of particular interest while the team transitions into a new era with the arrival of Mattia Binotto, and as the team begins to prepare for its Audi switch.

Bottas is keen on remaining in Formula 1, and he’s given Sauber no reason to question his capabilities. We can expect him to stick it out there in 2025.

F1 driver predictions: Who’s left?

In the aftermath of the Sainz news came confirmation that Sergio Perez would indeed be sticking it out with Red Bull for the remainder of 2024, despite rampant rumours that he would be dropped by the team after the summer break.

That leaves just a few additional open seats for 2025 — one at Mercedes and one at VCARB, though the driver lineups for these teams was never thought to depend on Carlos Sainz’s future moves.

Mercedes is thought to be gambling on young Kimi Antonelli, a teenage talent that the German marque hopes will be the second coming of Max Verstappen.

The situation over at VCARB is far more complex, but with Perez’s seat filled for now, it appears that the sister team is swinging between Daniel Ricciardo and Liam Lawson for 2025.

Both drivers were understood to have taken part in a test to see which driver was the faster of the two for the Red Bull seat, but now the focus appears to be very much on next year’s VCARB seat instead.

Read next: Carlos Sainz to Williams: Five reasons why surprise F1 2025 move isn’t as crazy as it sounds