Alonso Retires: What This Means For the Rest of the Grid

What about Hartley and Vandoorne? Can they keep their seats?

Stoffel Vandoorne has been

rumoured

to be out the door at McLaren at the season's end.

Speculation about Stoffel Vandoorne and Brendon Hartley has been rife after just a few races of the season. Both have been outshone by their teammates (Alonso and Gasly, respectively) and have been under pressure during that time. Alonso has supported his Belgian teammate via the media but that hasn't stopped the rumours, especially with Lando Norris doing so well in Formula 2. However, I believe that since McLaren has been through so much upheaval of late, Stoffel could continue on as their second driver, albeit on increasingly thin ice.

So that leaves Hartley, even with two seats available at Toro Rosso, could he continue on in the sport? At 28, he doesn't exactly fit the mold of a "junior" team driver, and his performances have been lackluster throughout 2018. The New Zealander's saving grace could well be the fact that Red Bull's junior team doesn't currently have anyone good enough to replace him. Nirei Fukuzumi is the closest to F1, competing in F2, but the Japanese driver is finding it tough going, placing 18th in this year's feeder series so far and unlikely to be able to obtain a Super Licence.

If Hartley is safe, who joins him? Even with Honda pushing for a Japanese driver in the Toro Rosso, Red Bull won't allow Fukuzumi even if the FIA do. We've already mentioned him, that man Lando Norris. It may sound a little left-field, but the Brit has been superb in F2 this season and McLaren will want him in an F1 seat sooner rather than later. The Woking team could offer Norris this themselves, but with an opportunity to see how the British driver gets on in someone else's car (instead of risking their own) is a safer option.

In summary, Hartley and Vandoorne could be thanking Alonso for saving their F1 careers.