Formula 1 News: 2025 F1 'silly season' nearing boiling point

The 2025 F1 Silly Season has been in full swing ever since Lewis Hamilton signed to drive for Ferrari starting in 2025. Tensions are rising.

(GMM) Christian Horner has slammed his Mercedes counterpart Toto Wolff’s intensifying push to woo Max Verstappen away from Red Bull for 2025 and beyond.

The ‘silly season’ is reaching an early boiling point at present, largely because of Lewis Hamilton’s shock Ferrari move opening up his Mercedes race seat.

That’s making Carlos Sainz Jr, set to lose his seat at Maranello, a key player – with Red Bull’s Sergio Perez also out of contract at the end of the season.

“Apparently they’re only offering Carlos a one-year contract,” 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg said on Sky Deutschland in Shanghai.

“Red Bull has made an offer to him too and yesterday I saw (Carlos) Sainz senior talking to Christian Horner because apparently he (Horner) is being a bit stingy with the offer.”

AutoRacing1.com’s 2025 F1 Silly Season Chart

Last Updated April 11, 2024

2025 F1 Silly Season Page
Team	Engine	No.	Driver	Nat.	Rating	Comments
Audi Sauber	Ferrari	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Germany	Strong	German team, German Driver
Audi Sauber	Ferrari	77	Valtteri Bottas	Finland	Strong	Expected back
Alpine F1 Team	Renault	31	Esteban Ocon	France	Strong	Expected back
Alpine F1 Team	Renault	61	Jack Doohan	Australia	Speculation	Waiting in the wings
Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team	Mercedes	14	Fernando Alonso	Spain	Fact	Signed thru 2026
Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team	Mercedes	18	Lance Stroll	Canada	Fact	Daddy owns the team
Ferrari	Ferrari	16	Charles Leclerc	Monaco	Fact	Signed thru 2028
Ferrari	Ferrari	44	Lewis Hamilton	England	Fact	Signed thru 2026
Moneygram Haas F1 Team	Ferrari	10	Pierre Gasly	France	Speculation	Could replace Kevin Magnussen
Moneygram Haas F1 Team	Ferrari	38	Oliver Bearman	England	Strong	Expected to replace Hulkenberg
McLaren F1 Team	Mercedes	4	Lando Norris	England	Fact	Signed
McLaren F1 Team	Mercedes	81	Oscar Piastri	Australia	Fact	Signed
Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team	Mercedes	55	Carlos Sainz Jr.	Spain	Strong	Will replace Hamilton
Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team	Mercedes	63	George Russell	England	Fact	Signed thru 2025
Red Bull Racing	Honda	1	Max Verstappen	Netherlands	Fact	Signed thru 2028
Red Bull Racing	Honda	11	Sergio Perez	Mexico	Strong	Expected back given recent performance
Visa Cash App RB	Honda	22	Yuki Tsunoda	Japan	Strong	Expected back
Visa Cash App RB	Honda	40	Liam Lawson	Australia	Strong	Expected to replace struggling Ricciardo
Williams Racing	Mercedes	23	Alex Albon	Thailand	Fact	Signed
Williams Racing	Mercedes	TBD	Kimi Antonelli	Italy	Strong	Expected to Replace Sargeant

Sainz also may not be Red Bull’s top pick, with Dr Helmut Marko declaring not once but twice over the Chinese GP weekend that he admires Lando Norris – despite his new McLaren contract.

“He is young and certainly in our focus,” the Red Bull advisor told Servus TV on Sunday.

“His father always jokes that Lando won’t win a grand prix until Max retires. I told him that he has to come to us, then he would definitely go faster.”

Perez, though, sounds increasingly confident about a contract extension.

“I think it will be one more race to find out,” the Mexican told DAZN on Sunday. “I really value being here and we have already made a lot of progress.”

As for Sainz, the longest contract being offered to the 29-year-old is at Audi-owned Sauber, where Haas’ on-form Nico Hulkenberg is also an option.

“Have you signed it yet,” Rosberg cheekily asked Hulkenberg on the Sky Deutschland broadcast on Sunday. “It’s on your table.”

Hulkenberg only made a joke in response, with reporter Peter Hardenacke later clarifying: “Nico confirmed to us again that there’s nothing to report.”

Red Bull’s Horner, meanwhile, lashed back at Wolff’s post-race comments on Sunday – as the Mercedes boss continues to campaign to pry Verstappen away from Red Bull.

His new argument is that Mercedes is history adept at preparing for sweeping new engine regulations.

“We are in a very good position for 2026 and we are ambitious with the targets we have set for batteries and fuel,” said Wolff.

“It’s easy to say ‘Max is in the fastest car’, but there are other reasons too, even for someone like Max.”

When he heard about Wolff’s comments, Horner hit back: “I think Toto has bigger problems than drivers he can’t get. It would make more sense for him to put his time and energy into his team rather than always causing trouble.”

And he cheekily concluded: “Have you heard that George Russell’s contract expires at the end of 2025?”