7 drivers who can partner Sebastian Vettel at Ferrari next year

As we approach the mid-season mark in what is turning out to be an unexpectedly exciting season, numerous questions abound as to which driver will end up where and who will be left stranded when the driver market finally settles down. In this tussle for gaining a seat, the pivotal factor is going to be the lineup at Ferrari, once that is decided, seats at other teams will start falling into place automatically.

Sebastian Vettel’s current contract runs until 2017 and it is likely that the German will stay with the team for several years to come. According to grandprix.com, it has been revealed that Vettel is eying a new contract (worth over 100 million euros) until the end of 2020 season which entails a number one role in the team and a say over who should be his teammate.

Whatever happens, Vettel’s seat is secure with Ferrari. However, the same cannot be said about his teammate Kimi Raikkonen. The Finn’s future is once again up in the air as several other drivers are heartily showcasing their talent in an attempt to entice the Scuderia Ferrari. Thus, no doubt, Kimi’s seat, in the current scenario, is the most competitive seat a driver can hope to secure for the next season.

Kimi has had a resurgence in form this season, with him already recording three podium finishes, the same number he had managed over an entire season last year. But even with these strong results, his form continues to be erratic. Qualifying has remained a major problem for him, where he has consistently lagged behind his teammate.

Furthermore, in races too he hasn’t been that impressive. His error in Monaco and a sub-par performance in Canada have further fuelled speculation regarding his impending exit from the team.

Numerous drivers are thought to be in running for the seat at Ferrari, but with reports confirming that Daniel Ricciardo will stay at Red Bull until 2018, it is almost certain that he isn’t going anywhere else. Earlier due to misgivings with his team during Spain and Monaco, there were rumours linking him with a possible move to Ferrari.

But the situation seems to have been sorted now, as Ricciardo has himself admitted that the best place for him to be next season is to stay put with his current employer. Quite rightly so too, because as of now, there is no other team on the grid which can provide him with the status and competitiveness which Red Bull gives him.

So in the following slides, several candidates will be analysed in order to ascertain the driver most likely to get the drive for Ferrari next season.

Nico Rosberg

Nico Rosberg’s contract with Mercedes is up for renewal at the end of this year and it is being reported that he is looking for a switch to another team for next year. Recently, he has appointed Gerhard Berger to handle contractual negotiations regarding his drive for next season. Now, Berger is known to have good relations with Ferrari and should talks break down with Mercedes, it is likely that he will see Ferrari as the second option.

Giving more fuel to the fire have been reports that Rosberg is trying to negotiate a three-year deal with the team, with a two-year deal out of the question as by then Hamilton’s contract too will be up for renewal. Mercedes will probably not want to have a situation in which contracts of both its drivers end at the same time.

Moreover, it is no secret that Mercedes is looking to promote its test driver Pascal Wehrlein in the near future to the factory team. However, Mercedes must be aware of the fact that Wehrlein is still too inexperienced and needs to be given some more time in order to get fully accustomed with the sport.

Thus, it appears that Mercedes might end up retaining its current driver lineup at least for a few more years as the Nico-Hamilton duo has served the team well as far as the Constructor’s Championship is concerned. Although, there have been several episodes of tension between the teammates, but Mercedes still has brilliantly managed to make them work together.

Thus, their lineup seems to be working well and there doesn’t appear to be much of a reason why it would want to unnecessarily change its drivers for next year.

Valtteri Bottas

It is widely understood that Bottas came quite close to signing for Ferrari last year and this year too it seems that he will be strongly linked with the team. During his tenure with Williams, the Finn has impressed one and all with several strong performances which include a total of nine podiums.

During his tenure with the team, he has proved to be very consistent and has secured strong results even under pressure from several drivers behind. Furthermore, he has been much more consistent than Perez and more experienced as compared to Sainz, the two other most probable candidates for the seat with Ferrari next season.

In the past three years, he has held his own very well against an experienced Felipe Massa, who had proved more than a match to Raikkonen during his time with Ferrari. Thus, if the Finn does join Ferrari, he will provide much needed overall stability to the team, an aspect in which the team has struggled recently mostly due to the inconsistent form of Raikkonen.

All these factors are enough to make him one of the strongest contenders towards joining the prancing horse next season.

Romain Grosjean

Ever since his move to Haas F1 Team, it has been no secret that Romain Grosjean is vying to join Ferrari, should a seat become available there. Written off by teams at the beginning of his career due to his affinity to crashes amidst inconsistent performances, Grosjean has certainly matured over the years so much so to be regarded now among the best drivers on the grid.

Even though he has become better as years have progressed, but still his performances have not been as consistent and impressive as that of Bottas. From time to time, he has still crashed out from races. Even after considering these aspects, he will still be on Ferrari’s radar should they let go of Raikkonen, but his chances are perhaps a bit less than that of Bottas and Rosberg too if he becomes available.

Sergio Perez

Another new entrant and rather surprising one has been Force India’s Sergio Perez, who has once again come into the limelight following his brilliant podium finishes in Monaco and Azerbaijan. The speculation regarding him joining prancing horse ignited when his father spoke about his son’s possible move there.

Since then, rumours have continued to persist regarding his future with Ferrari. With him also previously having been part of Ferrari Young Driver Programme, therefore, a move to the team remains a possibility.

Further, Ferrari might favour him due to his comparatively limited bargaining power in the contractual negotiations. This can be said, as signing up Ricciardo or Bottas, two drivers who are much more consistent and also having secured several strong finishes over the years, their bargaining power would obviously be much more, factoring in their achievements.

Perez on the other hand, even with his strong results, has been comparatively inconsistent during his career. Thus, he probably won’t be able to negotiate his contract on a scale on which perhaps Ricciardo or Bottas can. As Ferrari most likely wants Vettel to maintain supremacy in the team, bringing in a driver like Perez might actually be an option worth considering.

But a major detriment to his signing will be the fact that his contract with Force India extends upto the end of 2017, and thus Ferrari will have to pay a lot of money to take the Mexican through a buyout clause in the contract.

Max Verstappen

When it comes to Max Verstappen, the teenager has more than proved his mettle at a very young age. With his aggressive driving and several breathtaking overtakes, he is already being touted as a world champion in waiting. At Toro Rosso, it would definitely have been on Verstappen’s mind to join a top team in order to fight for victories and championships, and with teams like Ferrari showing interest in him, that dream didn’t seem to be far away.

But Red Bull have pulled off a masterstroke by promoting Verstappen to senior Red Bull squad, giving him a golden chance to achieve race victories and even championships, thereby securing his services for the next few years. Keeping all these considerations in mind it is again rather unlikely that Verstappen will join Ferrari, or at least that is not going to happen next year.

Carlos Sainz Jr.

For one and a half seasons, Sainz was partnered alongside the highly rated young Dutchman Max Verstappen. During their time together, the Spaniard outperformed his teammate on many occasions and especially in qualifying.

The fact that Verstappen has already moved up to a top team and is doing well alongside an established driver, therefore the chances of Sainz getting a seat with a top tier team himself have also increased.

During his short tenure in Formula 1, he has already proved his mettle through several strong performances even in an inferior car. But, it is widely known that Red Bull doesn't want to let go of the Spaniard, there are strong rumours going on about a contract extension for next year.

It will indeed be hard for Ferrari to sign Sainz and if they do decide to do it, then similar to Perez, they will have to let go of a lot of cash in this case too.

Kimi Raikkonen

Even after considering all the drivers who might be in contention for his seat, it might actually turn out that Raikkonen gets retained for another season. His retention is also plausible as Raikkonen and Vettel work well together and are also friends off track, so it adds another level of co-operation between them.

This harmony among team-mates is a bit hard to find in the increasingly competitive world of Formula 1 today. Thus, Ferrari will surely take this factor too into account while making a decision.

Furthermore, even with a few sub-par performances, his talent cannot be underestimated. His stirring drives at several races last year and even this year are enough evidence regarding his competitiveness. Looking at Ferrari’s philosophy of having a number 1 driver, Raikkonen’s chances of being retained thus increases further, as he may not provide the kind of resistance in comparison to a young driver.

But still, it seems less likely that Ferrari will retain his services for next year, as his erratic performances have been in the limelight and have also resulted in the team losing a lot of points in the Constructor’s Championship.

Conclusion

Bottas seems to be in the best position to sign up for Ferrari next year

Recently Perez and Sainz have emerged as strong candidates to replace Raikkonen next year, but a major barrier to their signing is the fact that they are already under contract with their respective teams and it will take a lot of money to sign them up for the team.

Furthermore, drivers like Bottas and Rosberg seem to be available for next year as both their contracts are up for renewal at the end of this season.

It appears that Rosberg is most likely to stay with Mercedes, as the team still remain highly dominant, and probably the best position to give the German with a car to challenge for the championship. On the other hand, situation concerning Bottas seems more interesting.

Williams have recently slipped down in the grid order and Bottas having been with the squad for the past four years, will definitely be looking for better options for next year.

Given the fact that Ferrari had already been interested in the Finn last year, if Ferrari do indeed sign Bottas, then it should come as a no surprise. Thus, looking at the all the possible scenarios, in my view currently, Bottas seems to be in the best position to sign up for Ferrari next year.

With Ferrari having a tradition of revealing big announcements at the Italian Grand Prix, the same trend should be followed this time around too. But till then, we can only speculate and hope that the most deserving candidate gets the nod to join Ferrari next season.