‘Crazy’ driver could ‘100%’ join 2025 Formula 1 grid midway through the season

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Formula 1 has seen three mid-season driver changes in the past two seasons. Daniel Ricciardo was the most recent victim as he lost his RB seat to Liam Lawson.

There was an ironic circularity to Ricciardo’s dismissal given that he’d returned to F1 at Nyck de Vries’ expense. Christian Horner brought the Australian back to Red Bull in a reserve driver role after he lost his McLaren seat.

With De Vries underperforming, Red Bull ran Ricciardo in their car in a Silverstone test. His impressive showing saw him rejoin the junior team and brought De Vries’ career to an almost certain end.

Ricciardo’s comeback would last 25 races in all – seven last year either side of an injury absence and 18 this term. While he was a clear upgrade on De Vries, Red Bull expected him to decisively beat Yuki Tsunoda and emerge as an alternative to Sergio Perez.

Instead, it’s Tsunoda who’s had the edge, prompting Helmut Marko to successfully push for the Lawson swap. RB’s role within the Red Bull set-up is to train drivers for the top team, so with a Ricciardo/Max Verstappen reunion off the table, his position became untenable.

He wasn’t the first driver dropped in 2024, though. Logan Sargeant suffered that ignominious fate after an accident-strewn and unimpressive 18 months at Williams, with academy driver Franco Colapinto stepping up.

Gabriel Bortoleto will put pressure on underperforming F1 drivers in 2025, Tim Hauraney says

Colapinto is one of two drivers who started the year in Formula 2 before featuring in F1. The other, of course, is Ferrari and Haas hero Oliver Bearman.

The former could miss out on a 2025 seat because Williams have already locked in Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz. But the latter has penned a deal at Haas, with PREMA teammate Kimi Antonelli sensationally replacing Lewis Hamilton.

All three have been beaten, however, by Invicta’s Gabriel Bortoleto. With two races remaining in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, Bortoleto leads the championship by 4.5 points ahead of Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar.

Speaking on the Nailing the Apex podcast, F1 paddock insider Tim Hauraney agreed with host Adam Wylde that Bortoleto could be in line for a mid-season call-up next year. That depends, of course, on whether McLaren make their junior driver available.

“Bortoleto’s going to be interesting,” Wylde said. “If there is anybody that struggles on the grid to start next year, there are gonna be conversations about that guy almost instantly. He’s so good it’s crazy.

Hauraney tellingly replied: “100%.”

What Alex Albon heard about Gabriel Bortoleto’s Sauber chances

Bortoleto could follow in the footsteps of McLaren colleague Oscar Piastri by winning the F3 and F2 championships in consecutive seasons. A feat also achieved by George Russell and Charles Leclerc, it would mark him out as an elite talent.

It could be advantageous for McLaren to loan him out. He won’t be able to stay in F2 if he wins the title, and while he could test for the team or compete in another series, a stint at a midfield outfit would offer a true indication of his abilities.

McLaren see Bortoleto as a long-term replacement for Piastri or Lando Norris, and this would enable him to prove his worthiness for the task. Both drivers seem happy in their environment for now the landscape shifts quickly in F1.

Albon thought Bortoleto was joining Sauber for 2025, but now it seems his chances have faded. Audi may not have wanted to take on a driver whose fate was controlled by another team.