Every race, qualifying effort and practice session is now being considered when it comes to teams deciding on their driver line-ups for next season.
Heading into the Chinese Grand Prix, more than half of the seats on next year’s grid are still unclaimed.
A video from the official Formula 1 site has outlined the potential destinations of several drivers.
Mercedes need to fill their second seat and it’s unlikely that many drivers will want to commit their futures to another team until that role has been confirmed.
Lance Stroll’s contract isn’t officially confirmed at Aston Martin but it’s hard to see his father Lawrence letting him go at this stage.
Meanwhile, Sergio Perez is doing a fantastic job to earn a new contract at Red Bull although they could end up replacing the Mexican if his form dips.
In the bottom half of the grid, Audi is the name on everybody’s lips ahead of their entry to the sport in 2026.
Both of their drivers are out of contract ahead of the 2025 season, and if Nico Hulkenberg continues his current heroics, he will almost certainly be driving for them next year.
The £30,000-a-week Haas star has had a brilliant start to the campaign.
Hulkenberg is an expert qualifier and would be a brilliant German option for the German team.
READ MORE: Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg’s life outside F1 from wife to height
Nico Hulkenberg heroics could earn him 2025 Audi seat
Zhou Guanyu appears to be under additional pressure heading into his home race in Shanghai with speculation over who might be driving for Sauber next year increasing.
The 24-year-old has spoken about his contract situation, but at this stage hasn’t done enough to convince the team he should be retained for 2025.
His teammate Valtteri Bottas has also made it clear that re-signing for Audi is his number one priority.
Unfortunately, future team principal Andreas Seidl has already tried to get rid of Bottas before this season making it hard to see the Finn retaining his seat.
Carlos Sainz is a key target for Audi and given the options further up the grid starting to dry up, he might end up deciding a long-term project is his best option.
He could be joined by Hulkenberg at Audi in 2025 if he continues his recent heroics with Haas.
Nico Hulkenberg has started 2024 F1 season brilliantly
Talking about Audi’s potential driver line-up, F1 commentator and pundit Alex Jacques said: “If current drivers Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu don’t fit that bill, there are plenty that ready to stake a claim for that seat.
“One such driver is Nico Hulkenberg who has been heavily linked to taking one of the soon-to-be Audi seats come 2025.
“Already scoring twice with Haas in a season where the team was expected to struggle as well as getting into Q3, Hulk’s heroics will land him a seat if he keeps it up.”
Nico Hulkenberg’s heroics this season have seen him score points in back-to-back races in Saudi Arabia and Australia, giving him the best chance possible of still being on the grid in 2025.
Current employers Haas are keen on signing Oliver Bearman which means one of their drivers losing their seat.
If Hulkenberg moves to Audi, that gives Kevin Magnussen a great chance of partnering the young Brit.
They already have a strong relationship and will be hoping to build on the steps forward they’ve taken under new team principal Ayao Komatsu.
The post ‘Will land him a seat’: £30k-a-week star told that current ‘heroics’ will earn him 2025 contract with new team appeared first on F1 Oversteer.
