Musical chairs: the 2019 driver line-up takes shape

Sauber

Marcus Ericsson (SWE) Sauber F1 Team on the drivers parade.

PROBABLE

Marcus Ericsson
Marcus Ericsson has three top ten finishes to his credit this season and has been just about holding his own against much-fancied team mate Charles Leclerc, so maybe he's done enough to extend his tenure at the Swiss squad. The fact that his main personal sponsors are also part of the consortium that owns the team may also be a helping factor, not that we wish to be at all cynical about that aspect.

POSSIBLE

Charles Leclerc
Charles Leclerc has been one of the stars of the season, but like any rookie he's also had his rocky periods over the course of the first half of the season. Even so he's been linked with a move to Ferrari, or failing that to Haas. However it's also quite possible that the powers that be will decide a second season at Sauber will be the best way to nurture his maturing talent.

Kimi Raikkonen
Kimi Raikkonen started his Formula 1 career with Sauber, so maybe this could be how he bows out if Ferrari show him the door and he wants to stay in the sport? It seems like such a backward step for the former world champion that it feels unlikely he would go for it, but Raikkonen's career is full of wildly unexpected decisions.

Antonio Giovinazzi
Ferrari clearly still have hopes for their junior academy driver Antonio Giovinazzi, and 2019 might finally see him rewarded with a full time race seat. He made his Grand Prix début with the team in 2017 as a last-minute stand-in for Pascal Wehrlein, and a couple of years on testing duties with Ferrari might have given him the experience and maturity he needs to make a breakthrough.