Silly Season

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If you are new to the F1 experience, you my have heard of "Silly Season".  This term refers to a time, generally halfway through the season, when the driver market heats up as teams find extra motivation to find their pairings for the next season.

This year's Silly Season has been rumbling in the background through the last few races with the nonchalant confirmations of Gasly remaining at AlphaTauri and Ricciardo's and McLaren's continued commitment to each other. 

However, Sebastian Vettel's surprise announcement this past week has truly signaled that Silly Season is in full swing.  Aston has made a surprise announcement of their own this morning, stating that Fernando Alonso will leave Alpine and join Aston for a multi-year contract starting next season. 

This surprise move leaves one seat open at Alpine, which is likely to be filled by Alpine rising star Oscar Piastri.  The reigning F2 champ had been previously tied to Williams pending and expected extension of Alonso's contract with Alpine.  With this barrier removed, it seems that the Australian's shot at the big time has finally come.

There are still many open seats and many confirmations to come. As of this writing both Williams seats, one seat at Haas, one seat at AlphaTauri, and one seat at Alfa Romeo remain unconfirmed. 

Albon will likely extend his Williams contract, and it would be surprising to see another open seat suit Schumacher more than his current position at Haas.  Alfa has stated that they are pleased with Zhou's performance, so it is likely that he will keep his seat next to Bottas.  Tsunoda seems like a shoe in for an extension, but the Red Bull camp is known for swift and harsh decisions.

But in the end, it is called Silly Season for a reason.  There will likely be many more surprises to come. And you will hear about them here at F1 America.

A.T.

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