Will F1’s Elder Statesmen Stick Around?

Age and experience brings wisdom and intuition, yet in Formula 1 it’s the young blood which is taking over the reigns of the championship.

Those who joined as rookies in the last three or four years, Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris, George Russell – the list goes on and on, are thriving in their respective environments in F1’s top teams.

However, the championship’s elder statesmen have slowly begun to move on or retire as new opportunities arise and their teams become ever-more restless. With the oldest driver this time last year, Kimi Raikkonen, now having retired and taken up NASCAR, I’ve taken a look at the remaining four ‘older’ drivers on the grid and where their future appears to lie.

Fernando Alonso

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It’s easy to forget that 40-year-old Fernando Alonso last won an F1 world championship more than 15 years ago, and that that feat was achieved with the same team he drives for in 2022. The Enstone-based Alpine team is a very different team compared to its early Toleman, Benetton, Renault and Lotus days, and has so far underperformed somewhat since the Renault board replaced its famous name with that of its realigned sportscar brand.

Alpine hasn’t yet set the championship alight in regards to its performances, even including its impressive victory in Hungary last season in the hands of 25-year-old Esteban Ocon. Surprisingly though, that race appeared to add more to the credibility of teammate Alonso than the formidable race victor.

Image: Formula 1

The two-time champion’s sublime defence and racecraft against the widely superior Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton utilised a mix of unrivalled experience and perhaps a dose of bitterness in the face of his former McLaren teammate. It proved that a driver who became notorious for unluckily timed off-track decision making still had what it took to warrant one of the twenty drives which so many young hotshots crave to get their hands on

The Spaniard recently revealed that he plans on continuing in F1 for “two or three more years” after his ‘1+1’ two-year contract expires at the end of 2022, but the team in which he’ll be a part of is actually a lot less uncertain than you’d imagine. A call-up from a team with bigger prospects than Alpine is probably unlikely though.

Ferrari, Red Bull and likely Mercedes all have baked in line-ups, with Daniel Ricciardo’s seat at McLaren the only potential question mark. However it’s thought there are at least two other drivers ahead of Alonso in that prospective queue.

Alonso revealed that discussions with Alpine would start in the summer, and it is thought that the fate of Alpine reserve driver Oscar Piastri will play little bearing on his future at the team.

Lewis Hamilton

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Going by statistics and statistics alone (in fear of precipitating wrangling in the comments), 37-year-old Hamilton is the greatest of the current crop of drivers on the F1 grid, with seven driver’s championships and eight constructor’s championships to his and Mercedes’ name. There is absolutely no circumstance that Mercedes would contemplate removing him in favour of looking elsewhere.

New teammate George Russell was brought in for 2022 specifically to build him up to be de facto team leader when the time came that Hamilton moved on – a matter that would be purely of Hamilton’s ruling.

However, the infamous struggles he has faced in getting to grips with the deviously non-compliant W13 in the first seven rounds of the season has led many to question Hamilton’s ability when not in the absolute optimal of machinery.

The truth is, Hamilton has battled bad luck, his Monaco qualifying and subsequent track position in the race are prime examples. It’s right though that he’s failed to get to grips with this year’s tricky car as well as Russell, but this certainly isn’t a reason to believe he won’t be in the coveted seat next year.

Let’s not forget as well that it’s not been that long since rumours lingered about Hamilton’s future, amidst his public silence in the weeks after the Abu Dhabi title deciding fiasco. It’s unquestionably all down to Hamilton in this case. If his heart is still in it after a few more races with the new upgrade package then he’ll absolutely stay.

We do know that he’s always had a small eye on Ferrari though, purely from a nostalgic point of view. And seeing them doing so well this year could spur him into a surprise move. A Ferrari move is however extremely unlikely – expect him in the Mercedes in 2023.

Sebastian Vettel

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Sebastian Vettel’s Aston Martin contract reaches its conclusion at the end of this season, with the four-time champion yet to make a decision on his future. What we can be sure about however is that the 34-year-old’s team are in a deep low right now, one of the lowest ebbs for the team since its days as Jordan Grand Prix.

The car is significantly compromised and off the pace of the frontrunners and the majority of the midfield pack, and has only really entered the spotlight when the car’s Spanish GP upgrade was unveiled. The controversial likeness of the sidepods to the Red Bull concept only adds to the frustration that the paddock felt over the 2020 ‘Pink Mercedes’ saga.

Someone as intelligent and intuitive as Vettel would realise that this type of technical decision can only come from the very top – ie. Lawrence Stroll – and would never have been something put forward by the likes of Andy Green or Otmar Szafnauer. It speaks of a dysfunctional organisation which, if we are to believe the rumours coming from the Aston Martin employees’ camp, is a far cry from the Force India days.

Image: Formula 1

Vettel’s performance in Australia, his first race back after catching COVID-19, will possibly irk him somewhat but he can not be satisfied with the team’s current performance either.

Since joining at the start of last season, they’ve only fallen backwards into the pack, which is certainly not down to the calibre of the driver. Admittedly they’ve fallen from an especially high place in what was the Silverstone-based squad’s most successful ever season in 2020, but Vettel will have been expecting to at least be fighting within the top ten by now.

As with almost every driver, but more so here, his future comes down to a combination of motivation and the potential for opportunity. Vettel is motivated by the prospect of winning, and it doesn’t look as though Aston Martin are on a consistent race-winning trajectory in the time he can naturally remain at F1-level physical condition. Nonetheless, he does insist that he physically has “a lot of years left.”

He needs to see improvements from Aston Martin, and there’s no glaring signs of that just yet. Another team coming knocking is also unlikely considering Vettel’s age and the competitiveness of the driver market.

There can be no doubt that Vettel would slot effortlessly into an ambassadorial, political or management role of some kind, either in Formula 1 or the wider world. His intellectual, genuine nature is something that F1 should certainly seek to hold onto in any way it can, so in that sense we should all hope he sticks around.

Daniel Ricciardo

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Eight-time Formula 1 race winner, and the oldest non-champion, Ricciardo is enduring what has to be the worst ebb of his post-Red Bull life in Formula 1, falling firmly behind young teammate Lando Norris in arguably every conceivable aspect of judgement.

He has less than a quarter of the championship points of Norris after seven rounds, and was well-and-truly embarrassed especially on the Spanish Grand Prix weekend when he was unreservedly outpaced by Norris whilst the British driver suffered from a debilitating bout of tonsillitis.

Ricciardo’s struggles are so visibly below par it has even led to McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown revealing that there are mechanisms in place to end the Australian’s lucrative contract early, with his 2021 and 2022 seasons having “not met expectations”.

Image: Formula 1

However, Brown also implied that it is in fact up to Ricciardo whether he stays in the McLaren seat for 2023, stating that it is down to “what he [Daniel] wants to do.” Either way, it certainly is not assured that Ricciardo will stay at McLaren for next year judging by his hugely dispirited nature in recent media sessions.

Right now, after a similarly disappointing Monaco weekend to the one he experienced last year, a significant part of Ricciardo wants out whilst the other part tries to emphasise the suggestion that he and the team must improve together moving forward.

He doesn’t want to throw in the towel and give up altogether, but he’s simply not enjoying his time in F1 right now even if he feels the McLaren environment is a positive one.

Perhaps looking enviously up at the top of the timing tower to see his old team Red Bull’s position fills him with some form of regret or self-condemnation, but however brave a face he puts on things, something will be eating away at him to instigate change.

The ball seems to be in the 32-year-old’s court, but what he would choose to do next is a huge matter which no-one knows the answer to. He’d surely be in demand from other F1 teams, but also from other enticing looking series – IndyCar, Formula E or his cherished NASCAR.

Author: Danny Herbert