The 2022 Formula 1 season is not yet underway, yet there are quite a few experienced drivers fighting for their future.
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Formula 1 is a cutthroat, dog-eat-dog world at even the best of times. Drivers are rarely if ever secure in their long-term future, and this is especially true if you’ve clocked up the miles over the years. And the same is true for ahead of the 2022 F1 season.
The current grid, as it stands, has a youthful vigour about it. Most teams are preferring to hedge their bets on younger drivers, banking on them to improve along with the team.
Of course, that doesn’t mean there’s a lack of experience on the grid; far from it. But with young, hungry drivers also waiting to step up from the junior categories, it’s safe to say the veterans will be keen to impress.
Also read: F1 pre-season testing – Five times teams hid how fast their cars really were
Here we look at five of F1‘s elder statesmen who begin the 2022 season with no guarantees of what the future might hold.
The role that Perez played in Max Verstappen capturing the 2021 F1 world championship cannot be understated. However, the Mexican is only contracted to Red Bull Racing for the current season. This might not be a concern normally, but Perez is 32 and, realistically, best suited to a support role.
To make things even more interesting, Red Bull have an array of driver options should they want them. Their junior program is thriving and they could well select any one of their young talents to partner Verstappen. One of them is even in F1 currently – we’ll get to him in just a bit.
This makes Perez’s future debatable. And while there’s every chance he carries on in the team for at least another season, it’s safe to say that isn’t a given. Especially with Red Bull’s tendency to chop and change drivers.
From a current Red Bull driver to a former one. It’s no exaggeration that Ricciardo had a sub-par 2021, despite winning the Italian GP. And his 2022 F1 season has not gotten off to the best of starts either, given he contracted COVID-19 and missed testing at Bahrain.
But even before that, the pressure has been building. Ricciardo looked at sea in a McLaren good enough to compete for podiums. To make matters worse, he was comprehensively outperformed by younger teammate Lando Norris.
Ricciardo’s current deal reportedly has 2 more years to run. However, it is not clear if he signed an initial two-year deal with the option of a third or a straight three-year deal. Even if it isn’t the latter, the eight-time GP winner might well find himself on the driver’s market if 2022 doesn’t go well for him.
This is an interesting one, simply because this is one of those cases where the driver holds the cards. If it were up to Alpine, they would probably want Alonso around a lot longer than his current deal, which runs for this season only. The real question, however, is if Alonso would want to stay.
He’s made little secret of the fact that he returned to F1 simply because he wanted to win more world championships, not to fight for the odd podium finish. Alpine might not be the best bet for that, but the 2022 F1 regulations are meant to lead to closer racing, giving Alonso a fighting chance even if it isn’t in a top car.
And it’s not like the Renault works team have no ambitions. But whether or not they can meet theirs – and Alonso’s – goals are another matter. Should the A522 not be competitive, don’t be surprised if Alonso walks away from the sport again. Perhaps even for good this time.
The Frenchman is proof that second chances in the sport are not always a bad thing. Many feared for Gasly’s career after his mid-season demotion from Red Bull to Toro Rosso in 2019. However, Gasly has since become a race winner as well as one of the grid’s most consistent drivers.
However, he doesn’t want to stay at AlphaTauri forever. The goal for any driver in Red Bull’s sister team is simple; make it to the Red Bull works team. And Gasly has stated time and again that his ultimate goal is to find his way back to the team.
Whether it happens, of course, isn’t up to him. His current deal with Red Bull ends this season and chances of a promotion don’t seem likely, at least for now. But even outside of the RBR set-up the 25-year-old should, in theory, not find himself out of the sport.
Could the 2022 F1 season be the last time we see the four-time world champion on the grid? It is a harrowing thought, but one that’s all too possible. There are three major reasons for this, the first being his contract which expires after this season.
The second is whether the new management set-up would want to keep him around. The man key to hiring Vettel, Otmar Szafnauer, is now at Alpine. The third, of course, depends on Vettel himself. A man used to fighting for championships as recently as 2019 will not be keen to scrap it out for points in the midfield.
Thus, if the Aston Martin is not competitive, the 34-year-old might just decide to walk away or find a new team. It is doubtful who would take a punt on him, but someone of his pedigree would always attract interest. And if he chooses to retire? His legacy is already set.
