SEVEN F1 DRIVER MOVES TO INDYCAR 2025 IN ORDER OF LIKELIHOOD

Formula 1’s 2025 silly season is well underway, and as the seats begin to fill, it has become clear that some current drivers may be left in the lurch. For some, that may signal a move to the IndyCar Series.

To date, there are seven current F1 drivers still looking to sign a contract — and some may very well make the switch to America to continue their open-wheel careers. Today, we’ll evaluate the likelihood of each driver’s move to IndyCar.

7. Carlos Sainz Jr.

Of all the contemporary Formula 1 drivers out of a contract at the end of 2024, Carlos Sainz Jr. is perhaps the hottest commodity of them all. The Spanish racer is a proven Grand Prix winner, and his participation at teams like Ferrari, McLaren, and Renault, as well as his stint as a Red Bull junior driver, mean he’s packed with valuable experience.

As a result, there are several F1 teams currently vying to sign Sainz’s contract, with Alpine and Williams standing out from the bunch. He’s the most likely of the seven to remain in the Formula 1 paddock, and the least likely to make a jaunt to America.

6. Valtteri Bottas

Sauber driver Valtteri Bottas is still hunting for an F1 contract to continue a career that has spanned over a decade and earned him 10 wins. He has stated that he hopes to make a decision about his future soon, but he remains in contract limbo for the time being.

However, even if Bottas departs Formula 1 at the end of 2024, he has already dipped a toe into plenty of other ventures. The Finn has found success as a gravel cycling racer, and he co-owns both a coffee shop and a gin company.

Should he move on from F1, Bottas is more likely to pursue one of those other interests than he is to move off to IndyCar.

5. Esteban Ocon

Esteban Ocon’s racing future is very much in question at the moment, as his current Alpine team has opted to part ways with Ocon heading into 2025. But will Ocon remain in F1?

Right now, current rumors have tied Ocon to the Haas Formula 1 team; Haas is said to be looking to sign a “reliable points-scorer” to partner rookie Oliver Bearman in 2025, and Ocon is said to be the primary driver in the running for that seat.

But if F1 doesn’t quite pan out, could IndyCar be a likely next step for the French racer? It’s tough to say. His career has largely been focused on the F1 ladder, with the exception of a stint in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters championship.

However, he has expressed a desire to one day compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans — and for this European driver, a move to endurance racing seems far more likely than a swap to American open wheel.

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4. Zhou Guanyu

Bottas’ Sauber teammate Zhou Guanyu is also currently looking for a Formula 1 contract, telling the Washington Post ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix that “I feel like there should be a spot for me in the future on this grid. But I just don’t know where.”

As has been reported earlier this year, Haas allegedly turned down a €30m+ offer from Zhou in hopes of pursuing a lineup of rookie Oliver Bearman and “sure-fire” points-scorer Esteban Ocon. Zhou is also hoping to remain with Sauber.

Zhou’s F1 future is a bit of a wild card at the moment, and it places him ever-so-slightly closer to the IndyCar realm when compared to Esteban Ocon.

However, at 25 years old and with plenty of funding from his native China under his belt, Zhou is more likely to remain in F1 in the form of a reserve driver, or to secure a competitive seat in a different form of international racing, than he is to make the swap to Indy.

3. Daniel Ricciardo

Ah, Daniel Ricciardo. The Australian racer with a penchant for all things Americana has long insisted that he has no interest in competing in the IndyCar Series. Part of that comes down to the fact that he has voiced a fear of ovals — but part of it has to do with the fact that Ricciardo has felt that he’s “not done” in the Formula 1 world just yet.

Would Ricciardo change his mind if he were to lose his current seat at Team RB? Would he concede defeat in Formula 1 and begin looking to pursue a career in America’s answer to open-wheel racing?

It’s tough to say. Certainly Ricciardo may feel more inclined to experiment with his career were he to believe that his tenure as a Formula 1 driver is well and truly over. However, IndyCar still feels like a stretch.

Ricciardo’s playful personality made him a star of the Netflix docuseries Drive to Survive, and it may become his primary fallback should a Formula 1 seat fail to materialize in 2025.

Remember, before he rejoined AlphaTauri in 2023, Ricciardo joined Will Arnett for an F1 broadcast titled The Grandstand. He may find a comfortable home as a pundit or presenter, or make a transition to content creation in much the same way Nico Rosberg did after retiring.

IndyCar is a possibility, and the series has never hesitated to curate no-oval schedules for international drivers looking to dip a toe into the sport. But if Ricciardo is going racing in America, he’s far more likely to join forces with NASCAR’s road course ringers.

2. Kevin Magnussen

Believe it or not, Kevin Magnussen has already made his IndyCar debut.

Back in 2021, Arrow McLaren drafted K-Mag to fill in for an injured Felix Rosenqvist at Road America. It was not a fruitful effort; Magnussen qualified 21st of 25 cars, and he retired on lap 33 of 55.

“I’m going to leave here with a big smile on my face although we didn’t finish the race due to a mechanical issue,” Magnussen said of the experience. “I’ve had a very fun experience and want to say thank you to everyone involved.”

Now that Magnussen’s Formula 1 future is in doubt once again, IndyCar has once again crossed the Danish racer’s mind.

During media availability ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix, Magnussen addressed his future in a very telling way.

“I’m starting to think that if I finished my motorsport career having just done F1 in the midfield, that kind of feels empty in some way,” he said.

“I watch some of those races — Le Mans, the Indy 500 — and I see the guys that win that; they look bloody happy.”

Further, in addressing the potential of a one-race ban due to penalty points last month, Magnussen praised IndyCar, saying, “I’ve raced in IndyCar and I loved the way they race over there and I feel the rules are very, very clear and very simple and the racing is great.”

A move to American, then, looks to be very much in the cards for Kevin Magnussen. The rumor mill has yet to link his name with any IndyCar outfits, but it’s easy to imagine that many teams would jump at the chance to sign a former F1 driver of Magnussen’s caliber.

1. Logan Sargeant

Logan Sargeant has several things going for him that make him the likeliest driver to move from Formula 1 to IndyCar. He’s American. His brother competed in NASCAR. And he already has ties to the incoming Prema team.

Sargeant’s career at Williams has left a lot to be desired. Though the American racer performed admirably in F1’s feeder series, he has struggled to come to grips with Williams’ F1 machinery. The team gave their 2023 rookie a shot at improving in his sophomore year, but it hasn’t quite worked.

But just because the American racer didn’t quite click with F1 doesn’t mean he should be discounted from establishing a successful career in IndyCar.

During the pre-race press conference leading into the Austrian Grand Prix weekend, Sargeant stated that “all options are open” and that he’s “exploring options within and outside of F1.”

This week, Sargeant’s name has been tied with Prema. The Italian racing team has long been a feature on junior series open-wheel grids in Europe and has expressed its intent to join IndyCar in 2025.

Sargeant and Prema have worked together in the past. Back in 2020, Sargeant competed under the Prema banner in the Formula 3 championship, where he secured third place overall in the final standings. The partnership could be just as fruitful four years later, in a much different championship.

Of course, a potential Sargeant/Prema IndyCar partnership remains very much in the rumor stages at the moment — but the fact that the two are already making headlines means Sargeant tops our list as the most likely current F1 driver to compete in IndyCar in 2025.

Read next: Why the Detroit Grand Prix is the wrong race to capitalize on Indy 500 interest

2024-06-28T22:23:46Z dg43tfdfdgfd