A Look at How the 2018 Formula One Season is Shaping Up

There are just a handful of races left in the 2017 season. Already, people have begun to look forward to the 2018 Formula One season. As far as we know, all the races and the dates are being finalised and the driver’s seats are quickly filling up. The 2018 season is set to see 21 races once again but the Chinese GP is yet to be confirmed. Sources say that the Chinese GP and the Bahrain GP may change places. With regard to driver lineup, 7 seats are yet to be filled, so lets break down the upcoming season shall we?

Calendar

The season will kick off on March 25th with Australia hosting the opening round as usual. This will be followed either by the Chinese GP or the Bahrain GP on the 8th of April. The Baku Grand Prix will be bumped up and host the 4th round of the season instead of Russia. Baku will be followed Spain, Monaco and Canada respectively. On June 24th, the French Grand Prix makes a return to the calendar after 10 years. However, the venue will be the Circuit Paul Ricard. The Circuit Paul Ricard last hosted a Grand Prix in 1990, so it will be 28 years since then.

France will be followed by Austria and Britain. Germany also returns to the calendar and the venue will be Hockenheim. Hungary and Belgium are up next before Italy signals the end of the European leg of the season. Things resume in Singapore which will be followed by Russia. The Asian leg ends with the Japanese Grand Prix and then the American tour begins. The US Grand Prix kicks things off followed by Mexico and Brazil. Finally, the season finale will be held in Abu Dhabi like usual. A notable absence will be the Malaysian Grand Prix, who have decided not to renew their contract.

Driver Lineups

Of all the teams, only Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull, Force India and Haas are fielding unchanged lineups. Renault are lining up with Nico Hulkenberg and new recruit Carlos Sainz Jr. McLaren and new partners, Renault, have confirmed Stoffel Vandoorne for another season. However, it is expected that Fernando Alonso will re-sign with them. Williams, Toro Rosso and Sauber have not made any announcements yet, but all fingers are pointing towards Antonio Giovinazzi and Charles Leclerc to fill the Sauber seats. However, this would leave Pascal Wehrlein and Marcus Ericsson without a drive. Lance Stroll is expected to continue with Williams as well. Daniil Kvyat is also expected to stay with Toro Rosso for the upcoming season