Earlier this month we at Vital F1 thought that the silly season had begun and had actually ended early.
We declared that the F1 Musical chairs game was all over with Sebastian Vettel signing a new deal with Ferrari.
With that move signed up, along with Kimi Raikkonen for 2018 that means both Ferrari seats are taken for the immediate future.
Red Bull Racing are locked in with Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen, however both are out-of-contract at the end of 2018 and both are linked with either a move to Ferrari to drive alongside Sebastian Vettel or with Mercedes to partner Lewis Hamilton.
That could still happen as now both Finnish drivers Raikkonen and Bottas have signed just one-year-deals.
‘I am honoured and proud to continue to work with Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport in 2018 and to remain part of the Mercedes family,’ Bottas told Sky Sports.
‘I’m happy to have celebrated my first race wins in a Silver Arrow. However, there’s always room for improvement and I still have not shown my full potential.’
Whilst the short-term deal appears to suggest that long-term at least Bottas doesn’t feature, but if Bottas can impress with a second season with the Silver Arrows then it is his seat to lose.
The final seats of the current top four teams are at Force India, we pondered whether or not the partnership of Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon was past the point of no return and irreversibly broken.
But it appears not, as with Ocon already holding a contract for 2018, Sergio Perez has signed a new deal as well.
‘Staying with Sahara Force India was always my priority, It’s a team that has allowed me to show my talents as a driver and I feel very happy here.
‘I’m proud of everything we have already achieved together and I think there is more to come. The team has done an amazing job this year to develop the car and establish our position as the fourth best team in Formula 1.
‘In the end it was an easy decision to continue our journey together.’ Perez told motorsport.com.
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