Winners and Losers in the 2015 F1 Driver Market
Now that McLaren have finally made a decision on their drivers for the 2015 Formula One season, all 18 race seats on next year's grid are accounted for.
More seats could open up if Caterham or Marussia find buyers, but the grid is set, for now.
With that in mind, let's take a look at the winners and losers from the seat swaps that kicked off in earnest at the Japanese Grand Prix, when Red Bull announced Sebastian Vettel would leave the team at the end of the season.
Winner: Jenson Button
1 of 7
Button did not actually switch seats, but he is still a big winner in the 2015 driver market.
By the end of the season, he appeared headed for the executioner's block. Longtime F1 journalist Joe Saward reported on his blog that McLaren CEO Ron Dennis was in Denmark trying to stir up sponsorship that would presumably have kept Kevin Magnussen in a race seat, at the expense of Button.
Two weeks later, though, McLaren announced that Button would stay on, partnering the incoming Fernando Alonso.
The reprieve is a big win for the Brit, who otherwise looked headed for sports car racing.
Loser: Kevin Magnussen
2 of 7
The flip side of Button getting the second McLaren race seat is Magnussen's demotion to reserve driver.
Magnussen was given a McLaren drive sooner than the team wanted to, but he did not look out of place on the grid. Yes, there were typical rookie mistakes—hitting Kimi Raikkonen in Malaysia or forcing Alonso off the track in Belgium—but he also proved himself a match for Button in qualifying, if not in race trim.
At the press conference announcing McLaren's new driver line-up, Dennis said, "I want to thank and pay tribute to Kevin, who has done a great job this season and will continue to be an integral part of our team. He will be our test, reserve and third driver, and remains an excellent prospect for the future."
Button is nearing the end of his career and Magnussen is still just 22. He will get another chance in F1, but he is a loser on the 2015 driver carousel.
Winner: Daniil Kvyat
3 of 7
Just a year after making a big jump from GP3 and Formula Three to an F1 race seat with Toro Rosso, Daniil Kvyat is on the move again.
With Vettel leaving for Ferrari, Kvyat has been tabbed for the four-time champion's empty seat at Red Bull.
The Russian was impressive in his first year in F1, finishing in the points five times (and in 11th on a further four occasions). With Red Bull, though, there will be a whole different set of expectations. His new teammate, Daniel Ricciardo, won three races in 2014, after making the jump from Toro Rosso.
Vettel, Ricciardo and Kvyat are all products of the Red Bull Junior Team, which has been very successful at preparing drivers for F1. Kvyat is just the latest success story.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Loser: Nico Hulkenberg
4 of 7
Always the bridesmaid...well, you know how that saying goes.
Once again, Nico Hulkenberg turned in an impressive, season-long performance and, once again, he was overlooked for a top drive.
While Alonso and Vettel play musical chairs at the front of the grid, Hulkenberg is destined for yet another season in the midfield in 2015. This despite scoring in all but four races last season and finishing 37 points clear of his Force India teammate, Sergio Perez.
"You are impatient and you want to get there," Hulkenberg recently told Autosport's Jonathan Noble. "For me it is frustrating not to have it yet at this second—but that is how life is, that is racing.
"But I will keep working hard here and I am sure one day the opportunity will come."
Hulkenberg certainly deserves the opportunity to show what he can do in a fast car, but he will turn 28 in 2015—not exactly young at a time when teams are signing younger and younger drivers.
Winner: Max Verstappen
5 of 7
Speaking of younger drivers, Max Verstappen is just 17 years old but will be making his F1 race debut in 2015.
Red Bull scooped up the young sensation, who finished third overall in his first F3 season. Mercedes were also interested, but Red Bull offered Verstappen a race seat at Toro Rosso next year, which sealed the deal, per Autosport's Jonathan Noble.
Verstappen, the son of former F1 driver Jos, will be paired with another rookie, Carlos Sainz, Jr., in what should be one of the most interesting teammate battles on the 2015 grid.
Loser: Jean-Eric Vergne
6 of 7
With Verstappen and Sainz arriving at Toro Rosso, time ran out on Jean-Eric Vergne. He was actually a dead man walking the moment Red Bull picked Ricciardo over him as Mark Webber's replacement for 2014, although he was given one more season with the Italian team.
Despite a number of strong performances and daring overtaking maneuvers to finish the season, Vergne could not win a reprieve.
When the F1 season ended, Vergne signed with the Andretti Formula E team and qualified on pole in his first race.
Winner: Marcus Ericsson
7 of 7
The final man on our list is Marcus Ericsson, whose F1 career was in serious jeopardy when Caterham went into administration and failed to turn up for the United States Grand Prix.
But Ericsson still arrived in Austin (as did his teammate, Kamui Kobayashi). Working the paddock all weekend, Ericsson left Texas with a 2015 race seat at Sauber.
It may not be the best seat on the grid—Sauber struggled considerably in 2014, failing to score a point for the first time in their history—but at least Ericsson will be racing in F1. And that is more than a few of the other drivers on our list can say.
Follow me on Twitter for updates when I publish a new article and for other (mostly) F1-related news and banter:
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
