F1: 2019 Driver Line-Up Predictions 

#1 Mercedes

Mercedes was the first team to confirm their lineup for the 2019 F1 calendar as they chose to retain both the current drivers.

Current Driver Lineup for 2018:

Lewis Hamilton ( GBR )

Valtteri Bottas ( FIN )

Mercedes have been dominating the sport since 2013, and this year too they are on top with Hamilton leading the championship standings. Bottas has been really unlucky this season, with certain victories stolen away from him due to a puncture in Baku and running out of time in Bahrain. Though Hamilton is leading the championship during the summer break, Bottas has managed to compete well with him and more importantly has been a good teammate to Lewis, often regarded as not the best teammate to have. With Mercedes almost certain to be fighting for the championship for the next 2 seasons before the 2021 regulation changes, it will be ideal to have Valtteri Bottas in the team. That is what happened, as Valtteri was given a contract extension for next year.

Lewis Hamilton’s contract was coming to end this year, and the driver market was holding up as they were waiting for Lewis to decide his future. Mercedes confirmed that Lewis will be in their team until 2020, and that paved the way for other things to happen, as Daniel Ricciardo moved to Renault, Sainz decided to go to McLaren and Pierre Gasly will be promoted to Red Bull.

Will we see anymore shake ups in the driver market this year? Maybe. Hamilton may do what Rosberg did in 2016, deciding to call it a time to his illustrious F1 career which may force Fernando to come back to F1. Anything can happen in F1. Keep checking for updates at Sportskeeda as we bring you the latest from the world of F1.

Expected Driver Lineup for 2018:

Lewis Hamilton ( GBR )

Valtteri Bottas ( FIN )