So much for the Formula 1 summer shutdown! We've had three major driver announcements for 2019 in the last couple of weeks, beginning with Daniel Ricciardo's move to Renault putting him alongside Nico Hulkenberg
And this week Fernando Alonso confirmed that he's ending his time in F1 at the end of the season.
That opened the way to McLaren confirming that the two-time world champion will be replaced by his compatriot Carlos Sainz, although we don't yet know who his team mate will be.
That means we now have two teams with fully confirmed line-ups for next season - Mercedes and Renault are both fully loaded for 2019.
Ferrari know that Sebastian Vettel will be back at Maranello, but haven't yet confirmed who will be alongside him. Kimi Raikkonen has the edge, but hot rookie Charles Leclerc is also still in the running.
Red Bull has already extended Max Verstappen's contract. It looked certain that Sainz would be alongside him, but the news of his departure to McLaren has left Pierre Gasly as the hot favourite to replace Ricciardo at Milton Keynes.
Haas don't want to make any announcements on their drivers until after the summer holidays, although Kevin Magnussen looks like a shoe-in to stay with the squad. But will it be the end of the road for Romain Grosjean?
Over at Force India, the recent financial upheavals make the situation hard to predict but it's surely all-but certain that Lance Stroll will follow his father's money and move to the team in 2019. Esteban Ocon is strongly tipped to stay, but Sergio Perez just might have something to say about that.
Toro Rosso's cupboard is looking a little bare. If Gasly goes to Red Bull, can they afford to ditch Brendon Hartley despite his lacklustre year with the team? And who will they get to run alongside him?
Marcus Ericsson will doubtless retain his seat at Sauber, but the question is who will get the other spot? Leclerc could stay with the team or else it might be a berth for Kimi Raikkonen if the Finn is ejected from Ferrari and he fancies another season in F1.
And at Williams, Sergey Sirotkin seems certain to stay at Grove despite failing to score any points so far in 2018. Fans are hoping Robert Kubica will finally complete his road back to F1 in the other car, but Formula 2 front runner George Russell may pip him to the post.
2019 Driver Line-Up
| Team | Confirmed | Rumoured |
|---|---|---|
| Mercedes | Lewis Hamilton (GBR) Valtteri Bottas (FIN) | - |
| Ferrari | Sebastian Vettel (GER) | Kimi Raikkonen (FIN) Charles Leclerc (MON) |
| Red Bull | Max Verstappen (NED) | Pierre Gasly (FRA) |
| Renault | Daniel Ricciardo (AUS) Nico Hulkenberg (GER) | - |
| Haas F1 | - | Kevin Magnussen (DAN) Romain Grosjean (FRA) Charles Leclerc (MON) |
| Force India | - | Lance Stroll (CAN) Esteban Ocon (FRA) Sergio Perez (MEX) George Russell (GBR) |
| McLaren | Carlos Sainz (SPA) | Stoffel Vandoorne (BEL) Lando Norris (GBR) Sergio Perez (MEX) |
| Toro Rosso | - | Pierre Gasly (FRA) Brendon Hartley (NZL) |
| Sauber | - | Marcus Ericsson (SWE) Charles Leclerc (MON) Kimi Raikkonen (FIN) |
| Williams | - | Sergey Sirotkin (RUS) Esteban Ocon (FRA) Robert Kubica (POL) George Russell (GBR) |
Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers
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