A lot of Formula 1 drivers will be considering their options over the next weeks and months before the start of the 2025 season.
Seats are going to become available up and down the grid with Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari set to trigger a lot of potential changes.
Speaking to Sky Germany, former driver Ralf Schumacher has urged one driver to look for a new seat next year whether he’s offered a new deal or not.
There’s now a clear divide between the top five teams and the bottom five teams on the grid.
Lance Stroll’s crash in Saudi Arabia and struggles in Japan offered an opportunity to finish in the points for the second half of the grid that otherwise wouldn’t have been available to them, while three DNFs in Australia provided the perfect chance to cash in.
The main beneficiary has been Yuki Tsunoda with the RB car looking like the best of the rest at the moment.
However, the next best team appears to be Haas which is a big surprise considering their performances in 2023.
Schumacher has now urged their lead driver Nico Hulkenberg to switch teams for the 2025 season.
While Haas are heading in the right direction, there’s one potential destination that stands out for the 36-year-old.
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Ralf Schumacher tells Nico Hulkenberg to switch teams for 2025
Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu suggested before the start of the season that they faced ‘real car’ issues before the campaign got underway.
They were the slowest team during pre-season, although Alpine appeared to have taken a big step backwards over the winter.
However, once racing got underway in Sakhir, suddenly Haas looked quite competitive and Hulkenberg extracted plenty of one-lap pace out of the car by reaching Q3.
The German went one better and scored points in Saudi Arabia, thanks in part to his teammate Kevin Magnussen’s brilliant defensive driving before the pair both finished in the top ten in Australia.
Hulkenberg finished 11 in Japan and only a superb pit stop from RB handed Tsunoda a point at his home Grand Prix.
Based on his recent performances, Schumacher has told Hulkenberg that he needs to switch teams for the 2025 season.
While he’s coming towards the end of his Formula 1 career, he’ll still be desperate to drive one more car that gives him the chance to earn that elusive first podium.
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Schumacher suggests perfect replacement for Hulkenberg at Haas
The six-time F1 race winner was asked if Hulkenberg should stay at Haas beyond 2024 and said: “No, certainly not!
“Haas is certainly a great team and everything will get better there, but the structure isn’t there towards the future and doesn’t look towards the future either.
“Investments are pending but are not being made because [team owner] Gene Haas has other ideas.
“It’s a nice, small team for newcomers like Oliver Bearman.”
Where could Nico Hulkenberg go in 2025?
If Hulkenberg is going to listen to Schumacher’s advice and move teams at the end of the season, there are a few potential destinations for him.
The most obvious is Sauber, who will become Audi in 2026 and have previously attempted to hire him in the past.
He’s been described as being in ‘pole position’ for the seat in the past and neither Valtteri Bottas nor Zhou Guanyu currently have a contract for 2025.
The likes of Alpine and Williams would probably consider Hulkenberg if he made himself available to them, although neither team constitutes an upgrade at this stage.
Damon Hill said earlier in the season that top Formula 1 teams ignored Hulkenberg because he was ‘too big’.
If there’s one front-running team he could end up at in 2025, it’s probably Mercedes.
They want to bring in youngster Kimi Antonelli, but if he’s not ready for next season then they need a stop-gap.
Fernando Alonso has been touted, but if he decides to stick with Aston Martin, then Hulkenberg would be a very good alternative.
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