The top five drivers who have missed out on 2025 F1 seats after Gabriel Bortoleto confirmed by Sauber

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Gabriel Bortoleto has taken up what might be the final space on the 2025 Formula 1 grid, now that nearly all the places are confirmed.

Only a spot at Visa CashApp RB alongside Yuki Tsunoda has yet to be confirmed by the team, although there are indications that Red Bull could end up going to Franco Colapinto if they decide to axe Sergio Perez at the senior team in favour of Liam Lawson.

With the news that the seat at Sauber is now plugged up by Bortoleto, several other drivers have missed out on an opportunity to join the F1 grid in 2025.

Daniel Ricciardo

After looking like the most logical replacement for the underperforming Sergio Perez at Red Bull, Daniel Ricciardo was dropped by the team just a handful of races into the second half of the season.

The Australian suffered from an underwhelming season so far, to the points where Red Bull questioned whether or not he would improve on the performances from Perez in the main team.

Red Bull needs a suitable rear-gunner to Max Verstappen who can also bring home regular points to help their chances in the Constructors’ Championship. Now Red Bull faces a considerable deficit to McLaren and Ferrari in the final three races of the season.

Ricciardo’s chances of getting another seat on the grid are slim, with this likely being his final year as an F1 driver.

Valtteri Bottas

After 10 wins and 20 pole positions another driver whose career looks to be over is Valtteri Bottas, after a move to Sauber has failed to materialise into something better.

Sauber’s form off the back of the 2021 season made the move from Mercedes questionable, but Bottas always had the long game in mind with Audi’s plans to enter F1 in 2026.

What he probably did not foresee is the change of leadership whereby many of the main people behind the initial Audi effort, including Andrea Seidl, have now been replaced. This meant his lacklustre 2024 was put under the spotlight and with it Audi’s Mattia Binotto has decided it would be better to go with youth rather than experience.

Bottas will likely attempt to get a seat in Mercedes as a reserve driver to keep himself in the paddock ahead of the 2026 rule change, but it could spell the beginning of the end of his full-time drives.

Mick Schumacher

A driver that has been in the frame for a seat in 2025 has been Mick Schumacher, who was considered at both Alpine and Sauber.

Alpine was impressed by his pace in their Hypercar team and with Flavio Briatore coming onboard as an executive advisor, a long-time friend of the Schumacher’s, it looked like a possibility. They have instead went with Jack Doohan, who took part in an extensive test programme with the team this season.

Schumacher was reportedly under consideration at Sauber, but Binotto was more keen on signing another young talent. Now it appears Schumacher’s chances of getting a seat are slim in the near future, considering the regulation change ahead of 2026.

Felipe Drugovitch

The Aston Martin reserve driver was on duty during pre-season testing in 2023 when Lance Stroll broke his wrist in a cycling accident, but has since only been taking part in practice sessions for the team.

Drugovitch has not had any racing experience since he wrapped up the 2022 F2 title, so he will likely be race-rusty in that respect.

The Brazilian was briefly on the radar for Williams when they were looking for replacements for Logan Sargeant, but has since not garnered any interest meaning it could be a while before he sees a debut.

Peter Windsor has highlighted how he thinks it’s ‘heartbreaking’ to see Drugovitch watch the races from the garage, and it looks unlikely that he will be making his full-time debut any sooner having not been under consideration for the seat at Sauber.

Theo Pourchaire

Once billed as the next exciting talent to come out of France and Sauber’s driver academy, Theo Pourchaire was the most likely option for the team after sealing the 2023 F2 title.

A brief outing in Super Formula in Japan was married with races in IndyCar in the US with McLaren, although the dodgy contract situation ultimately led to him being dropped after five rounds then briefly brought back for a sixth.

Although Pourchaire is still involved with Sauber, it’s unclear whether he will get any seat time with them in the future having also not been part of their testing programmes or Friday practice sessions this year.

The fact that the team has decided to go outside of its driver programme for Bortoleto also suggests that a seat in F1 is unlikely at Sauber in the near future for Pourchaire.