Predicting the 2029 F1 Driver Line-Ups

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Hello, everybody, and welcome back to the P1 Podcast with Matt and Tommy.

Oh, baby, get your crystal balls out.

It's time to look into the future.

The 2029 F1 Driver lineups.

You're about to hear them first, right here, right now.

Exclusive.

Look, you loved the one we did previously back in 2023 for 2026.

Some were right.

Tommy did a generational thing with Kimmy Antonelli.

We also did some very wrong ones.

And we're going to try and predict what's going to happen in the next three years, Tommy.

Indeed.

The last time we did this, Lewis Hamilton ruined it all by going to Ferrari and making the whole thing switch up.

And all the order changed completely.

So I look forward to, by the time we release this, the exciting news that Lando Norris has gone to Red Bull or something crazy that we weren't expecting.

And all of this is out the window.

But this was a lot of fun to do.

I keep wanting to change it again and again.

But I really enjoyed it last time.

And it's fun to think about how different the sport is going to be in three years' time because a lot does change.

So let's explain how this is going to happen, Tommy.

Well, how are we going to do it?

Are we going to do, I say one, then you say one?

Maybe we'll do team and team.

Team and team, yeah.

So we'll alternate teams.

So you go first.

OK.

God.

All right.

The pressure is on me.

We're going to do it alphabetically, which means the 2029 Alpine F1 driver lineup, according to Matt Gallagher, is Pierre Gasly and Isaac Hadja.

A double French lineup.

Now, what are my reasons for this?

Well, I've taken learnings from my 2023 driver lineup predictions for 2026 that anything can happen.

And perhaps big changes are on the way.

That's all I'm going to say.

You're going to find out the rest of my predictions very shortly.

But for this one, look, I actually don't feel too bad about it.

One, because it's a double French lineup.

I think Alpine love a bit of that.

As for Pierre Gasly individually, I think he will stay there unless a top four team come knocking.

And I don't know whether that's going to happen.

No disrespect to him.

I think he's a great driver.

He's already shown this so far in the 2026 season.

But is he going to go into a top four team, even if they did come knocking and be the number one driver there and be the one to steer a team to potentially a championship and him, a driver's world championship?

I don't know.

I think for him, from a career perspective, staying at Alpine, hoping they continue to move forward with a Mercedes engine in the back of it is his best bet.

You look at McLaren, they beat Mercedes with their own engine.

So that's the reason why I've gone for Alpine.

And then for Isaac Hadjar, I mean, it's not the first time, I mean, he would literally come alongside Pierre Gasly, who also left the Red Bull driver program.

It's a place where, again, I don't think Hadjar is going to do terribly and that he's going to lose his Red Bull seat.

But at the same time, I think driver moves can maybe make this happen where Hadjar will have to relinquish his Red Bull seat and go elsewhere.

And this is where I think Alpine could be a good stable for him.

And I believe, yes, that he will he'll prosper.

And I'm talking like he's actually happening.

This is ridiculous.

But that's what I've gone for.

A double French lineup.

And I feel comfortable with it if there is a very big, silly season ahead, which there should be, by the way, there are so many contracts up this year, next year into 2028.

Hence why we're predicting 2029.

So for Alpine, I've gone for Pierre Gasly and Alex Dunn.

So very unsure about this one.

I do think Pierre Gasly will still be there.

I could absolutely see it happening.

He's finally got, you know, he's talking about this is the best car he's driven, maybe his whole career.

And it feels right that he's kind of in that team and he feels like a team leader there.

They're going to want to keep him there.

He'll want to stay for his career because obviously, you know, with that whole back and forth with Red Bull,

I think it's a great kind of home for him.

And as for the second seat, I was between three drivers, Colopinto staying because I think his performances are, you know, mixed.

But obviously, of course, he brings a lot of financial backing and a big fan base to that team.

Paul Aaron, who is the reserve at the moment, who is kind of waiting in the wings.

But the reason I've gone for Alex Dunn is because it's three years time where I do worry for Paul Aaron that by the time a seat is available,

he's not had that experience in a race car.

And Alex Dunn is now part of that Alpine junior team.

He's a driver that maybe needs to hash out some of his extreme kind of aggression with his overtaking and things.

But I do think he's a very, very quick driver.

And if he delivers a great season in Formula Two, you know, I think there's every chance that we could see him in a Formula One car.

He needs to keep his nose clean though, doesn't he?

That's what I'm saying.

Yeah, definitely.

He's got a, he's very crash happy and collision happy with some of his overtaking and things.

You know, not just the recent move that we've kind of seen in the race in Australia,

but even like back when he was a McLaren junior as well.

Exactly.

So that's something for a Formula One team to consider.

Interesting.

OK, so we're not going to agree on every single driver, which is great.

Let's now go to Aston Martin, Tommy.

OK, so Aston Martin I've gone for.

Lance Stroll, shocker, unbelievable pick there.

And Yuki Sonoda.

So my thinking here is initially I was like Yuki's career is done, can't see him returning.

I don't think Aston Martin are going to be very good for a very long time.

I think they're going to still be in a bit of a struggle.

I think, you know, if that's the case and they are still struggling at this time in 2029 or even, you know, the previous year.

You think they're going to be struggling still in 2029?

Yeah, yeah, I do.

Wow.

I don't think they're going to be, you know, hands falling off because there's so much vibration in the car and finishing last every race.

But I think it's going to be a lot longer for them to be a top team.

I don't think they're going to turn it around and suddenly be able to attract a Charle-Claire who kind of mentioned before.

Because there's always this talk of like, if they can become a big team, they could get a big driver.

They've obviously got a lot of money.

And I don't think it's going to be a hugely attractive place to be.

So with that Honda engine deal, I don't think there's going to be a lot of people jumping at the chance to drive that Aston Martin.

So I think they'll be in a bit of pain potentially.

And I'm going for Yuki Sonoda.

Oh, all right.

Tell me, drop in the fire opinions.

Well, I categorically disagree with where Aston Martin will be come 2029.

I think they will be one of the top four teams at this point.

Maybe turn it into a top five.

Maybe a team will drop out to be fair.

It'll be Red Bull, won't it?

Let's be real.

So yeah, I have a different opinion on that.

And my two drivers at Aston Martin are Lance Troll.

I know big, big moves.

And George Russell.

Oh, love that.

George Russell was born to be at Aston Martin.

That man fits their messaging.

The moment he came out the womb, he was destined to be an Aston Martin driver at some point.

Just their whole culture and everything.

I don't know. He just seems to fit that brand.

Hugo Bonsu.

Dropping James Bond references.

Oh, God. Absolutely.

He might even be James Bond at some point in his life.

So obviously that's a joke.

But also I think there is some element there where I think George would consider it if Aston Martin were strong.

I don't know if this gives you slight indications as to perhaps what's gone on at Mercedes, but the thing is right.

I think Fernando Bonsu at this point may well have said, you know what, enough's enough.

I'm 47 now. Let's bounce.

So that's what I'm banking on.

That could easily not happen.

Because I remember in the last predictions thing we did, this was my only clean sweep of a team.

I might have just thrown that in when Lance Stroll and Fernando Bonsu are still the Aston Martin driver I have in 2029.

Clip this right now because I feel like it might happen.

But that being said, with these big changes that I foresee come 2029, I think George Russell...

I mean, Aston Martin have an insane level of facilities now.

They are as big as the likes of McLaren and Ferrari and Mercedes in terms of what they should be capable of doing.

So come 2029, yes, they are devastatingly slow right now.

But come 2029, that's three years.

We never saw the McLaren dominance of that small period of time until it happened and it came around very quickly.

And I think this will be the same in these new regulations where we could see teams have huge improvements from season to season.

So I think George Russell will go there and Lance Stroll will still be there unless his dad goes, I'm done with this, I'm off.

And then Lance will of course go as well.

But that's my driver line up for Aston Martin.

Do you think George would...

George, obviously you've got him leaving Mercedes.

Do you think that's like a Toto, you know, Kimi Antoni is his favourite son.

Come to me, Lawrence Stroll.

You'll be my number one now.

Yeah, I mean, I firmly see at this point George Russell as a world champion and Lawrence Stroll wanting another world champion to...

Getting a one-year contract from Toto Wolf every year, even, probably the world championship.

From Toto Wolf, do you mean Lawrence Stroll?

No, no, it's in Toto Wolf giving George a one-year contract every year.

Six months.

You can get a quarter of a season and you have to.

But let's see, I think this is...

So many things could happen.

I've changed my driver line up a thousand times before coming into this.

But there's something about a George Russell Aston Martin move that I can see.

So let's see if that one happens.

Let's now go to Audi.

My two drivers at Audi are Gabrielle Bortoletto and Nico Hülkenberg.

This is my Aston Martin of 2026.

I firmly believe that Hülkenberg will still be in Formula One.

I think he's still in loving Formula One and also that the Audi dream of potentially being a team that can get towards the front.

And Bortoletto, I don't think he'll have any reason to move either because this is such a big brand.

That is if Audi are still in Formula One when F1 rip up the regulations and say it's a V10 sustainable fuel from here on in.

Probably not going to happen, but we can all dream.

Not the Audi leaving part, but the V10s, please.

So let's say Audi are still in the sport.

I think Bortoletto and Hülkenberg are still viable.

I think the Hulk's 38 and Alonzo's 44.

So drivers can stay for much longer than ever, I would say at this point in F1.

Especially because the chef can drive the cars now, as Alonzo said.

I should have said that for Aston Martin.

Lance Stroll and head chef.

But yeah, Bortoletto and Hülkenberg are my two at Audi still.

This is how difficult it is, right?

I'm even considering changing it again, but no, I'm going to stick with it.

So I've gone for Gabriel Bortoletto and Freddie Slater.

It was an Audi junior right now.

I think so Hülkenberg.

I've been scouting at the carting track.

No, the logic here is that I think Bortoletto is a real talent and is going to be someone that Audi really want to keep.

I think in three years time, he'll be a team leader there, even though he will still be quite young.

I think we've seen in kind of the likes of Russell and Norris and Piastri and Leclerc,

that you can still be a young team leader now.

You don't need to be kind of in your 30s as like a team leader now.

So Bortoletto, I could see being there.

Freddie Slater is someone that's had a decent amount of hype around him.

A British driver, he's started the season well as well.

And I think that we could see him, he's come on the Audi ranks and they'll want to promote him up.

These academies always do want to kind of get their drivers the whole way into Formula One and prepare them for Formula One.

I will say now that the driver I was really considering going to Audi,

which is insane because I put him in last time when I did my 2026 predictions, is Carlos Sainz.

And there's something I can't shake that thinks that Carlos Sainz could still end up at Audi.

I thought that's what you were going to say.

Yeah, I think Audi could still be a good, I think Audi will be a very strong team at this point.

And if the Williams dream is not happening for Carlos Sainz,

I could see him moving again and Audi really, really trying to make this happen.

So I was really, really considering Carlos Sainz in Audi,

but I've gone for the young lineup of Bortoletto and Slater

and hoping that I look like a genius when I've discovered someone again that no one's heard of.

They have heard of him, he's hyped.

He's hyped, he's hyped, he's hyped.

Okay, interesting stuff. We now head to Cadillac.

So I have gone for Sergio Perez and Ugo Ugochiku.

And that is a driver that I have studied his name to pronounce correctly a lot.

And you've probably still butchered it.

And probably still butchered it, so I apologize.

Now, we've got youth and experience here.

It was between Perez and Bottas and I think they will still continue to be very evenly matched.

However, I just feel like Perez, one, with his backing and two,

I could see Perez just wanting to stay in Formula One for a lot longer than Bottas.

I could see Perez sticking around in Formula One till he is, you know, in his 40s, I think.

I think he's enjoying the sport and I could absolutely see that happening.

So I've gone for him over Bottas and I almost went for her to.

However, Ugochiku has done a great job in kind of junior categories.

He's American. He's the son of a Nigerian fashion model, which is very cool.

And yeah, he's representing America.

He's had a great start to the season in, yes, it's only one race.

But in Formula Three, where he won the feature race.

So at this moment in time, he is leading the F3 Championship.

And I really do think Cadillac will go down this route of wanting an American driver.

And I nearly went for Colton Herter.

But there's just something about me that just thinks that maybe he's just too far into his career.

And the hypes maybe died down a little bit.

That if there is a young American driver that's doing brilliant things in F3 and F2,

the hype will go on to him and they'll pick someone else.

I absolutely love.

But it's all guesswork, isn't it?

I love how you're like, you know, he's too far into his career.

Colton Herter is 26 years old.

It's not like he's...

But it would be 29.

It would be 29.

Make your debut at 29 is quite...

He might already be in Formula One by that point.

Let's see.

All right.

My two drivers at Cadillac are Sergio Perez and Colton Herter.

OK.

Yeah.

I can see it.

Yeah.

I was convinced of that.

It might be the case.

You know, your case there for Uga Chuku, is that how you...

Uga Chuku, yeah.

Uga Chuku is also very fair.

I just feel as though there is something that tells me herter will get at least one Formula One season.

But I don't know if it's 2029 or if I get there too early.

And then, you know, if it doesn't go well, he might well lose his seat.

But I think for me, Perez makes so much sense if he wants to stay and continue racing to continue at Cadillac.

There's not...

I don't think Perez can do too much at this point to get to a better place if Cadillac are right at the back.

Obviously, he'll be hoping that they move forward performance-wise.

And maybe that is the right decision for Perez.

And then for Herter, of course, he's in Formula Two now.

He's not had the best start.

Again, we're basing it off one race weekend.

But that being said, I just feel like there is an enormous amount of conversation about him.

And there is, of course, these Cadillac ties already with Herter.

So I think it could happen.

I'm not absolutely convinced with this one.

But that was my immediate thought, was I reckon they're going to want that to happen.

So let's see if I'm too early, too late, or if it never ever happens.

You want the same idea of like Bottas and Perez.

Perez would stay longer than Bottas in Formula One?

I think just a team...

My goat Bottas, you're in my heart.

But I think if a team is choosing between Bottas and Perez, they choose Perez every single day of the week from a financial side of things.

Yeah, they're so similar in terms of their skill and pace.

And we've seen that this year that Perez has got that backing and fan base as well, hasn't he?

Yeah, and I think that is so lucrative to a team, especially a team like Cadillac that's just joined Formula One.

Of course, they all have been in the sport for a few more years, but I think that's where he wins over Bottas.

I know Bottas has a lot of fans.

Of course, he's the social media sensation these days, but I still think they would choose Perez over Bottas.

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Okay, now let's get to a big one.

Ferrari.

My two drivers at Ferrari in 2029 are Charles Leclerc and Ollie Bearman.

Those are my two picks.

So back in 2023, I said there's no chance Charles Leclerc is going to be there in 2026.

I've learned my lesson that Charles Leclerc will be there forever.

So I will continue to predict him in Ferrari.

Look, in our P1 live shows, this is something that we spoke about a lot when we were touring.

By the way, get your tickets, Australia coming at the end of the month.

Not the end of the month, start of May.

One of the things we always discuss was what Ferrari would need to do to keep Charles Leclerc.

And what they've done is exactly what we said in the live shows is give him enough to hope that he would have the fastest car, but not quite a championship-winning car.

And this is what's happened in 2026.

And I feel as though Ferrari will be challenging for podiums.

They will get wins over the next few years.

And Charles loves Ferrari.

It's quite clear.

You know, he's gone through much worse times than what perhaps is ahead for the next few years.

So I think there's no reason for him to change.

I think he loves being at Ferrari for many, many reasons.

So I'm keeping Charles there.

And Ollie Bearman, I think, is an absolute...

I know that, of course, that would mean Lewis Hamilton leaves Ferrari by this point.

And Hamilton has had a strong start to 2026.

But I think by 2029, Ferrari will want Ollie Bearman in.

And he has been destined, I think, to go to Ferrari since God knows when.

So been a Ferrari junior driver, of course.

Then was a Haas, which is essentially a Ferrari B team.

And I think it will be time.

And Bearman is doing phenomenally well as well.

Let's not forget.

He is performing brilliantly.

Of course, Tezuka won't talk about that, but generally he's shown that he has got a very high ceiling where that ceiling ends.

We don't know.

But Bearman is my second Ferrari driver in 2029.

So Ferrari in 2029.

I have gone for Charles Leclerc and Ollie Bearman.

OK.

We've had our first agreement.

We've finally agreed.

That's good.

Five teams in.

This one, I think, is no real surprise.

I think a lot of people would pick this one.

Charles Leclerc.

Of course, I think we both had him leaving when we did our 2026 prediction.

2023 Ferrari were looking poor.

We thought how long would Charles endure it?

But the fact that he's now got a good car underneath him, even if it's not the championship winning car.

There's hope there.

He does really want to stay at Ferrari and win that championship for Ferrari.

He's still the golden boy there, even with a seven-time world champion in Lewis Hamilton as his teammate.

Of course, we've both not put Lewis Hamilton in our teams,

whether he's moving elsewhere again or retiring.

TBC?

TBC.

I...

Spoiler.

Don't you dare spoil it.

OK.

I won't spoil it.

But Ollie Bearman, you're right.

He's just destined to be there.

He's already had his debut with Ferrari.

There's one thing that Ollie needs to sort out, and that's his interviews.

Oh, my word.

No, he doesn't.

I love him.

No, I know, but from a Ferrari perspective.

From a Ferrari point of view, he needs to get that media training down,

because I absolutely love his interviews.

They're so funny.

My favorite one of him is where he goes,

and then they tell him what the problem is,

and he says the engine problem or something.

It's so great, and he's kind of a driver that just is young,

and he's excitable, and he's saying all these things.

But I could see him at Ferrari, absolutely.

It makes total sense for him to be there,

so watch it not happen now.

But this one, when I was doing the whole list,

and we put all the teams down,

I put this one in straight away.

This was like a very, very short.

Yeah, when I was filling it out, I was like, shall I fill it out?

I didn't do it in order.

I kind of put the ones I thought and worked the rest out,

and this was a really, in my opinion,

I can't wait to be wrong, obvious and an easy one,

because it feels like Charles would stay there,

and then next in line at the Ferrari throne is Ollie Berman.

So yeah, it makes total sense in my head,

and probably why we've both gone for the same thing.

Okay, interesting stuff.

I am loving this, and I think it's about to get more and more

difficult as we go along.

So let's now head to Haas.

I have gone for Esteban Ocon and Rafael Camara.

I was unsure whether Ocon would stay.

Maybe his performances haven't been as good as we were maybe hoping

for Ocon, but I do think Haas will want that experienced driver

we saw in years gone by that they had, you know,

your Grojans and your Magnuson and Hülkenberg,

and they keep them in the team for a very long time

for that experience, and they are going to want

an experienced driver in that team.

So I was unsure whether who else would go there,

so I've kept Ocon in there.

And as for Camara, he's obviously won the Formula 3 championship.

He's second in F2, albeit there's only been two races

and one round, so it's hard to judge,

but I do see him challenging for that championship

in Formula 2 this year.

And he is a Ferrari junior, which we've seen

is a nice stepping stone with Haas,

even though you maybe would argue that maybe it's

the Toyota juniors that might step in there.

I did think about going for, you know, a Japanese driver,

potentially with that whole Gazoo Racing tie-in

that they've got now, but I could absolutely see this happening.

So that's the lineup I've gone for.

Interesting stuff.

My two drivers for Haas are Raphael Camara and Liam Lawson.

Oh, OK.

So what I've done here is, I mean,

literally copy and paste what you said about Raphael Camara.

It seems so set in stone as long as he performs in F2 now

to get to Haas, the Ferrari B team,

because he has Ferrari junior ties.

So that one, I'm in complete agreement with you.

The Liam Lawson one is an absolute, like, rogue shout at the moment,

because things are changing.

Was it there was a slot left, didn't you?

Yeah, he literally was the last person I put in there,

and I was like, I can't see Lawson leaving Formula 1

because I think he is getting better and better.

And we've seen a great start to the season so far,

and of course, there is some probably recency bias here as well.

Lawson's done great so far this season, and we've had three rounds.

But this is when we're recording because it's spring break.

So for Lawson, I didn't want him to lose a seat,

so I put him in Haas.

There is a sad thing here where, like,

I feel as though in this big, silly season change,

Estie Bestie could fall by the wayside here,

especially if there are some young rookies

to come into the sport as well,

which make for even less seats around.

So, yes, spoiler alert, I do think maybe Estie Van Ocon could,

unless he had a decent outing in Suzuka.

But the thing we have been talking about over the last few seasons

has been, you know, there's been moments of brilliance,

but not enough consistency to maybe warrant a seat

for years and years to come.

So I know he's a great driver, and I feel really bad

because I love him to pieces.

He's such a great guy.

But that's been my hardest thing to think about in 2029,

is, OK, maybe if there are some young hot shots coming in,

like a Kamara or some other driver that we might talk about later on,

who's going to, maybe unfairly, be dropped out of the lineup.

So that's my reason for that, and I think Lawson,

yeah, it's a bit of a weird one for me,

and it doesn't quite click,

but I didn't want Lawson to lose a seat,

and there was a seat available.

So there you go.

Right, we now go to McLaren.

Big, big decisions to be made here.

My two drivers at McLaren are Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton.

What?

Wow.

I was not, yeah, I did not see that coming.

I've been, yeah, maybe I'm slightly high.

I'm not.

But so Lando Norris, I think, is a staple at McLaren.

I think it's very clear that he loves the team very much,

and I just don't see him moving.

The Lewis Hamilton thing is huge,

and this is just learning from 2023 to 2026.

Had I said in 2023 that in 2026 Hamilton would be at Ferrari,

you'd go, wow!

Well, the thing is...

This is a bold take that you just want to come true,

and you could be like, I told you.

Yeah, yeah, exactly.

It's 99% wrong, but there is part of me.

There's part of me there.

Hamilton goes back to where he started.

It's not the same team, though, is it, really?

I know it is literally the same team in terms of

in the McLaren Technology Centre,

but it's not like you're going back to a total wolf that you have.

But I think the reason I've done this,

and again, this is insane.

Most likely wrong, 99% wrong.

The reason I've done this is that I may be 4C,

Norris and Piastri, you know what?

Piastri is like, I want to go somewhere else

and be an absolute number one driver.

So you'll find out where he goes very shortly.

That might open up a seat at McLaren,

where Hamilton, perhaps at this stage of his career,

Ferrari want to make a change, they put Oli Berman in.

I don't know.

There's so many unknowns right now,

and this is why it's so difficult

to work this out.

But I mean, my God, if I was right,

I would never stop talking about it.

I don't think it is going to be right,

but that being said, I wanted to commit to it

because there's part of me that goes,

you know what? It could happen.

Because I think Hamilton wouldn't want to leave the sport,

potentially, by 2029.

But he may well come up against contractual issues

where he wants two years and he's only given one year,

or I don't know.

We're allowed to be in Dreamland,

not because I think this would be particularly a great move

for Hamilton, but...

It's my list, and that's what I've gone for.

That's the bold take of the video, I think.

I thought, wow, I like it, though.

My McLaren lineup is Landon Orris and Oscar Piastri.

So I have gone that they will keep the peace.

I think the fact that they managed to keep the peace

in a very titanic title battle between the two of them,

and Max as well, and everything that could have gone wrong,

the fact that they've managed to come out on the other side

and still seemingly go well,

if anyone's going to leave,

I do agree with you on that sense that it will be Oscar Piastri.

I could see Mark Webber doing a deal with another team somewhere else.

If McLaren either don't deliver or they feel like Landon is maybe...

Yeah, Oscar wants to be like a complete number one driver somewhere

and have a young inexperienced teammate against him

and build a team around him, because that's something we've seen.

A lot of drivers do it, kind of almost becoming quite a new trend, isn't it?

George Russell goes to Mercedes, and Charlotte Clair goes to Ferrari,

and Landon goes to...

And then they signed these massive deals for like 10 years,

and they just locked in forever.

But I could just see that working very nicely for McLaren.

Those two drivers, they have long-term contracts.

Landon, famous last words, and clip it now.

I don't see Landon...

If I said this about Lewis Hamilton when he was at McLaren,

ever leaving McLaren,

maybe he will at some point a lot later into his Formula One career,

but no time soon.

I can't imagine Landon leaving McLaren.

He is just that driver that you just can't...

I don't know if you're the same.

I just cannot see him in any other racing overalls now.

No, you said that about Hamilton, though.

Yeah, exactly.

I think Landon will leave McLaren at some point, but it's not.

At some point, but a lot later into his career.

And Oscar Piastri, yeah, I think I had really toyed with the idea

of Oscar Piastri going to another team, one specific team,

which maybe I'll talk about when we get to that team,

but no, I've kept them in there.

Exciting.

One of us is boring, the other one is absolutely crazy.

There's no in-between.

So we now head to Mercedes.

Mercedes, I've gone for George Russell and Kimmy Antonelli.

I promise my line-ups do change.

Two in a row, where I have, in fact, the only two so far

that I have kept the same lineup from what we've got currently.

But yeah, I see Russell and Antonelli staying as teammates,

had thought about Russell leaving,

potentially if Kimmy Antonelli becomes, you know,

the new Golden Boy and starts delivering,

which I have to say, and is already.

Yeah, I was going to say, he already is,

but in terms of like, Kimmy Antonelli beats Russell

to the championship this year.

And then next year, Antonelli is still ahead.

I think George will go and look elsewhere

because I think he would be a talent that people would want.

And in that situation, you think Toto is going to, you know,

Kimmy Antonelli is like the next big thing you'd want to move on.

However, at this moment in time, I could see them staying.

There was, of course, all the rumors about Max Verstappen going there.

Of course, I've not put him in that Mercedes team.

I personally feel like that has all gone now, but we'll see.

So yeah, I've gone for the same lineup as currently is in 2026,

if you're watching this video three years later.

Okay.

My Mercedes lineup is Kimmy Antonelli and Max Verstappen.

I'm going for it.

These videos are for generational picks, not forgetting them all right.

If I can get one generational pick from this, I will be happy.

I think that Kimmy Antonelli, of course, is that there's no doubt in my mind

that he will continue there for the foreseeable.

And then this next pick, the Max Verstappen to Mercedes, of course, rumored,

you do not know what's going to happen between now and three years time.

That there can be so many things that could occur.

Red Bull could become the slowest car on the grid.

Max might even retire and he might even be on the grid,

which was also a consideration of mine.

But I just, I don't know, I feel like there's a part of me that just,

a very small part of me that thinks that Max could just go,

let me have a little play.

I just, just a year.

Let me, let me, let me go.

If Mercedes are still quickest in 2029 and Red Bull are terrible.

Why not?

Why not have a little go and then retire?

I think he loves Red Bull very, very much.

And there's a part of me, of course,

that thinks that he will just stay at Red Bull if he does continue in Formula One.

Hopefully with changes that make Formula One better for everybody,

not just Max and what he wants, but I think for the fans and everything else.

But yeah, I've gone for it.

Max and Kimmy.

What, what a line-up that would be.

Those two.

Get on so well.

Fireworks.

Yeah, true, to be fair.

That would be, that would be quite something to watch.

I'm going for cinema right now.

That would be amazing.

It would be cinema because I think that would be such an interesting dynamic

of Max always having been that kind of number one in his team

and the kind of, well, yeah, like he was the golden boy at Red Bull

and the team leader and everything like that

to go into that environment where Toto loves Kimmy Antonelli

and, you know, it's like it's his own sunracing, it feels like sometimes.

So yeah, it would be fascinating to watch.

And I'd obviously love to see it because I don't want to keep watching him

finish behind an Alpine every week.

No.

And the thing as well is that I don't know exactly how this dynamic happens

because of course everybody jumps to Max is going to oust George out of Mercedes.

But as we spoke about a little bit earlier, George might just get sick

of this number one Kimmy Antonelli high train and go, you know,

well, I'm going to go to Aston.

I'm going to, I'm going to be going number one over.

Actually, I'll wait.

It's not strong, but I'll try and be number one over there.

Yeah.

It's this is what makes silly season and driver moves so, so fascinating

because all of this could be wrong or some of it could be right.

Let's now head to racing bowls where my two drivers at this team in 2029

are Arvid Limblad and Nicola Solov.

Those are my two Arvid Limblad.

I think we'll still be there at this stage.

Could well have been called up to Red Bull at this point,

but it depends on his trajectory.

It's a TBC on this one.

It really does depend on if Arvid improves at a rate where he just

decides, you know, decimating his teammates and then Red Bull can't ignore him.

That's obviously the standard progression.

But I'm going to keep Arvid in racing balls for now.

And then Nicola Solov is, of course, in the Red Bull system.

He's racing in Formula two.

I think he's second in the championship after one round.

So again, it's one of those.

Well, he's in this.

He's in the junior program.

It makes sense.

Racing balls love to promote up and coming talents.

And I think that would be, that would make a lot of sense.

So that is what I've gone for.

Solov and Limblad.

So for racing balls, I have gone for Nicola Solov and Matia Colnaghi.

Wow, a complete little Swaperoo.

Yeah.

So I do think Solov is destined to be in a racing balls.

Maybe we should have had a bonus prediction that we could do afterwards

of what will racing balls be called in 2029?

Because it's always different.

But I think...

Battery balls.

Red battery.

Maybe.

Red battery.

There you go.

I think that Solov is, I'd be amazed if he doesn't get the call up to Formula one one day.

Maybe, I think Liam Lawson is a difficult one because would he stay in racing balls?

Would he go back to Red Bull?

Or does he obviously put him to move elsewhere?

He was a really difficult one for me because his performances have been great.

And it's all about whether he can be that Alex Alban or Gasly where he gets another chance of having gone to Red Bull,

kind of demoted back down and then shown what he can do.

But Solov, I can absolutely see that.

And then as with the logic of Solov, Colnaghi is next in line for Red Bull as well.

So it's a completely fresh double Red Bull Junior by 2029.

The difficult thing with Red Bull, and maybe this won't be the case now,

Helmut Marcos gone, is they are very quick to promote people.

So it's quite hard to pick because there could be another Red Bull Junior by 2029

waiting in the wings that's ready to go.

And equally, Solov might have done so well that he's in the Red Bull racing by 2029.

He's not even in Formula one right now. That is how they've done.

I mean, when we did our 2026 predictions, correct me if I'm wrong,

I don't think Hajar was even mentioned in any of them.

And now he's at the top team along, like a top team in Red Bull, not top team anymore,

a lot, but teammates have actually just happened.

So yeah, they're a fast moving team, aren't they?

So I've gone for two Red Bull juniors.

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Let's head to the main team, Red Bull Racing.

So I've gone at Red Bull Racing for Isaac Haja and Arvid Limblatt.

Now, do I mention the elephant in the room now or do we say that is he going to Williams?

I think Red Bull are going to be a midfield team for a while.

Maybe not as bad as they are now.

But I think it will take a while for them to get to the heights that they were.

I had no kind of thought in my mind that Max will be there in 2029.

With the way that the regulations are, his contract will have ended at Red Bull.

If this was 2028, he's got a contract for that season, so I'd have gone.

Oh yeah, he might see out his contract, but maybe this has all changed.

And in 2029, we've got V10 engines with sustainable fuels and Max Verstappen welcome back.

But at this stage, I don't see barely any percent of me that Max goes past this 2028 contract that he's got with Red Bull.

Because this is not the Formula One he signed up for.

And he gets much more enjoyment from doing other racing series.

And he'll probably be off at Le Mans with Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Betel or someone that also haven't made my list.

Alonso is not in there at 47 or whatever it'll be.

So they're off doing Le Mans together.

And yeah, I've not got Max in there.

I think Arvid Limblad is destined to go up to Red Bull Racing and be promoted again.

I don't think they'll rush him as much as we've kind of seen.

Now Marco's not there. I think there'll be a lot more sensible with it.

And Hajar has done a solid job so far.

I think they will stick with that team.

One kind of interesting scenario if this is the case.

Is if Red Bull Racing, no disrespect to them, have a lineup of Hajar and Limblad and say at this point they're not race winners.

They're in the midfield.

Could they seriously justify having two Formula One teams when you've got.

I think that's an interesting kind of debate of whether it's worth it when you could maybe argue at this moment if it continues.

There's not a massively pup between racing balls and Red Bull because they're very similarly paced.

And if anything, they're very close together.

So who knows what racing balls are going to be by then?

Yeah, I reckon there might be a name change on the way.

But let's see. Let's see what what occurs.

My Red Bull Racing 2029 lineup.

Just bear with me on this one. Let me cook.

I might have burnt it.

Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz.

Oh, wow.

That is a strong lineup.

That's a tasty lineup.

That's a strong lineup for the fifth best team.

I don't know if I'm just creating lineups I'd like to see rather than what would actually happen.

But yeah, this is if Oscar decides to leave McLaren, which is a big if and he may well just stay at McLaren and it'll be happy and rosy and everything else.

But there might be a part of him that wants to go elsewhere.

And I think Red Bull could could be could be that place.

Let's say there is a big step between racing balls and Red Bull and they are an appetizing team to go to.

Then yeah, I think should Max leave Oscar might fancier a slice of the pie.

And then alongside Carlos Sainz going back into the Red Bull stable.

I believe that no disrespect to daddy vows right now.

But Williams have not started this era of regulation very strongly.

They haven't.

And I think that there might be an element of Carlos going, ah, so you know when they were making that having all this conversations about qualifying a Ferrari and all this sort of stuff.

Now there's a big chasm between where he was at Ferrari and where he is now in Williams.

So I think they need to make serious progress over the next couple of years if Carlos isn't going to look elsewhere.

And there could be a spot at Red Bull.

And as we say, right, it might well be completely different with Helmer Marco gone where they're not just going to promote from racing balls all the time.

They might look at the roster that's currently in Formula One drivers that are maybe looking elsewhere from their teams.

I think a piastry signs line up would be so cool.

It's probably so wrong.

But I love dreaming about it.

So so that's what I've gone for.

I'm glad you like that.

I like it a lot.

I would say that as I mentioned about Oscar Piastry when I was doing my McLaren lineup, I think if McLaren if Oscar did leave McLaren Red Bull is the team.

I could absolutely see him in with, you know, the Mark Webber ties there.

The fact that you could.

I also nearly put Oscar Piastry in a Red Bull racing because I think had Red Bull racing, you know, if Max leaves, which I think he may well do in 2029.

Even is that balance?

Isn't it that even if they are in the midfield, would they still be a big enough team because of the history, because of those championships and years gone by that they have to have a race winning.

Very strong driver in that team.

And I think they could would still have a level of.

Oh, well Red Bull is strong.

So some teams just have aura, even if they are mid in that in that midfield, you always feel like that they kind of could return to glory.

And you think Red Bull racing would be one of those that could still convince Piastry to go there, even if they were kind of where they are now or kind of in that realm, if you like.

I think as well.

And one small flaw with your team that makes me disagree with that lineup is the fact that should Max leave, Red Bull need, and I mean need a headline signing.

They can't be having two drivers that are, oh, yeah, they're up and coming.

They have to have race winners, potential champions.

That's the kind of route they would have to go down, I think, from like a we're Red Bull racing messaging.

Did I not say they had just won three titles, but no.

Oh, sorry.

I thought you said they were also going to be really slow.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I also, the logic there was, and yeah, I can see your logic for it because if I was going to put a top driver in Red Bull, I would go for Piastry.

I'd also consider Sight potentially as well.

I could see that.

If he's unhappy at Williams, he's an easy poach.

Exactly. I can't see them both going together because I think if Oscar left McLaren, that would be the same issue, I guess, from that side of it.

That you kind of, oh, I want to be a number one.

So I'm leaving London or to the teammate.

I'm going to have Carlos sign to the teammate, I think is difficult.

But it's a strong lineup and you think this is going to be a really interesting time for Red Bull as a team.

If they can't return to that former glory, where they go, can they justify having two teams?

Do they, you know, just focus on one team and build their way up and sell racing bulls to someone else?

And we have a different team in there.

Yeah, it's going to be absolutely fascinating.

And I think this is a really hard one to guess because we've had, you know, if we were here last year, we'd say Red Bull,

of course, they're going to have a really strong driver lineup, but they've started the year terribly.

And these regulations terribly.

And so much has changed in that team, you know, Horners left, Newies left, Wheatley's left, Helmut Marcos left,

which is who was, you know, Adam, like so kind of had such a strong hold in the one that was promoting drivers and kind of the power play in terms of putting drivers in those seats.

So yeah, really excited to see what Red Bull are going to be like in 2029 because I think it could be very different.

Absolutely. Now the final team, Williams.

So my two drivers at Williams are Alex Albon and Franco Colopinto.

There you go.

So Carlos leaves. Franco, of course, has done a little standing previously at Williams.

And I just feel as though absolutely could happen.

Franco has, of course, a massive, massive backing in Latin America.

And I just feel as though he will still be on the grid.

We've not seen too much from him so far at Alpine.

But I also, I just feel like he is a driver that can improve.

And that's just purely because of what we saw when he first jumped in the car with hardly any experience.

And maybe he's putting too much pressure on himself at the moment now that he's got a full time seat.

Maybe the Alpine dynamic is not what it is.

I mean, I was going to say, we've seen what it seems in Drive to Survive and then Alpine are like,

no, look, they are friends. Look at this picture.

So, yeah, look, I think Franco might leave Alpine, whether that's because Hajar comes knocking and he'll find a spot back at Williams.

And then as for Alex Albon, I think he's going to stay there for a very, very long time believing in the Williams Daddy Val stream and fair play to him.

You know, Alex is a strong driver.

I just don't see him going anywhere.

So I'm locking him in for 2029 at the very least.

And he's joined by Franco Colabinto.

So for Williams, I have gone for Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonte.

No, I haven't.

I just didn't want to end the video with a really boring prediction.

Oh my God, I was like, what's going on?

Team Unk have returned.

And now I've gone for colour science and Alex Albon.

And I feel bad about ending the line up with another boring one.

How many teams have you gone for exactly the same?

Like four?

Only three.

Three?

Three from 11.

Could you know that's what cooked from 2023 to 2026?

We went for big changes and there was a lot of non-changes.

Excuse me.

When Colnaggy, Aguchigu and Kamara are absolutely cooking in the sport,

I'm going to revel in that glory.

No, this is again, I think Alex Albon is, I was very, very confident would stay for 2029.

I think that's a sure bet.

Carlos Sainz was the one that I really considered moving on.

And I think for Carlos, it's not always been his fault,

but he is a bit of a team jumper around her.

I will use as a term.

Team jumper around her.

But he is.

Only the best English language on the team podcast.

He's gone to so many different teams.

He's kind of not really found a home.

And it's not always his own fault.

Of course, he got kicked out of Ferrari.

He would still absolutely still be there if Hamilton hadn't come knocking.

But you know, leaving McLaren and then leaving Renault and leaving Torosso.

And he's not really found a home in F1.

Sounds very sad, doesn't it?

But at Williams, if they are struggling within a year,

I think even next year, if Williams are still where they are,

Carlos is far too good of a driver to be stuck in that team.

And it's where next?

Does he take a chance on Aston Martin becoming good?

Does he go back to Audi?

I could see him at Aston Martin, Audi.

Maybe even McLaren, if Oscar Basterie did leave.

You feel like he's a driver that people will absolutely want.

He's way too good.

He's way too good to be in Williams anyway,

even if they were where they were last year.

And I think if they continue to be struggling like they are now,

he won't be there at all.

But it's just where will he go?

So I've kept him in my team for now,

hoping that the Daddy Vowels does cook.

And Williams, with that Mercedes engine,

can kind of thrust their way up the grid.

If they get ahead of Alpine or something,

it's quite a good position to be in, I think, going forward.

So yeah, it's a tough one,

but I've enjoyed this a lot actually.

It's always fun.

I kind of want to just do these more and start doing 2033

and start looking who's karting and stuff.

Yeah, yeah, 2040, 2050, look back on it in 24 years.

But yeah, it's been a lot of fun.

I'm sure there's been a lot of really, oh, no chance,

being shouted at through your either podcast listening ears

or eyes or whatever's going on there.

But that was a lot of fun.

I really enjoyed it.

I can't wait to reflect on this in three years' time

to see just how wrong I was in particular.

And that is it.

Let us know your predictions, your big moves in the comments.

I want to see how many people agree with any of our things

or if we're completely wrong.

But that's the beauty of it.

I don't think any of us are going to be right at this stage.

So, Tommy, what are your final thoughts?

Final thoughts are, yeah,

I just will learn from what happened in 2026

and it's very easy to look in three years' time.

Or even, like, the predictions we've made now and go,

oh, my God, that's absolutely ridiculous.

But with the 2026 lineup, looking to 2023,

obviously, we looked at the lineup we'd done

and it kind of looked a bit ridiculous.

But so much changes in Formula One and within three years,

I would argue that the 2026 lineup itself,

if you'd have gone for that in 2023,

saying Hamilton's at Ferrari, Carlos and Williams

would have been just as crazy

and had all these comments going,

what on earth are you talking about?

Why are Perez and Bottas driving for Cadillac?

What's that all about?

You know, the sport changes so much

and that is the beauty of these predictions

that you get so many sliding doors moments in Formula One

and can't wait to see where it goes next

and I hope I'm wrong

because I don't want to see Max retire.

And I want to see Fernando Alonso winning the World Championship at 50.

A lot of requests but it hasn't gone in to your prediction.

Sad times, sad times.

So I guess finally quickly, who's missing from your grid

and who's missing?

Bottas, Ocon.

Is that it?

So I'm missing Colopinto.

I'm missing Alonso.

I'm missing Holkenberg.

I'm missing Bottas.

I'm missing Max Verstappen, of course.

Lewis Hamilton.

So yeah, Hamilton Verstappen and Alonso have all gone from my grid

which is a sad thought to have three fantastic, amazing, legendary drivers

gone from the sport would be a sad time.

Talk about that actually.

Hamilton, he's just hung up his boots at this point.

I do think, yeah, he's enjoyed it.

I don't think he's mentioning that he's enjoying it a lot more this year.

I mean, how old will he be?

So he'd be 44.

So 44, his race number.

And yeah, Alonso's obviously gone that long.

Would I see Hamilton racing in...

Change it all.

Let's start again because you're now thinking that Hamilton needs to be in your list.

No, I think he will go at that point.

But one thing that is interesting is you could put,

and I'm sure this is the same for yours,

you could literally replace one drive with another

and it's not a case of just one driver.

Everything has to then change and it's that domino effect of Formula One

that is what made it so crazy in the first place when Lewis Hamilton left.

It's that domino effect and how this guy goes to this team

and this guy goes to this team and this guy goes to that.

That's the beauty of it.

There you go.

That's it.

Deep breath.

We'll see you in three years.

Now, of course, we've got more podcasts coming,

but Matt and Tommy from this video will see you in three years to reflect.

So look forward to it.

Take care, everybody. Bye.

Trying to hear a hilarious extra double final thought.

Oh, OK.

When we do this 2029 reflection, I will be 40 years old.

And you'll still look 21.

So that's fine.

That's all that matters.

I will be 36.

Properunk status, both of us.

Goodbye.

Tom Unkingham.

P1 is a stack production and part of the ACAST Created Network.

Immersing yourself in all things soccer ahead of this summer's World Cup?

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From one of the fastest growing soccer newsrooms,

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Read, watch, and listen as our journalists connect the dots

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including me, on the ground with the US national team.

Plus, if you want to test your soccer knowledge, try On the Ball.

It's a game in The Guardian app and it's really, really fun.

And if you're into stuff like this...

Well, I think the problem is if you give footballers an inch,

they will take a mile.

Is it too much when it's this close?

It's a bit much. It's a bit too real.

Maybe you could just talk with a slight delay.

Predicting the 2029 F1 Driver Line-Ups

About this episode

Alpine

Red Bull

reserve

Aston Martin

George Russell

Lance Stroll

Kimi Antoni

Lawrence Stroll

Toto Wolf

Nico Hülkenberg

Alonzo

chef can drive the cars now

Audi

Formula One

F3 Championship

Charles Leclerc

world champion

Esteban Ocon

experienced driver

Raphael Camara

recency bias

driver moves

midfield

regulations

Drive to Survive

team jumper

Fernando Alonso

hung up his boots

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