Ferrari
| Seat 1 | Kimi Raikkonen (confirmed) | Seat 2 | Felipe Massa (confirmed) |
BMW Sauber
| Seat 1 | Nick Heidfeld (confirmed) | Seat 2 | Robert Kubica (confirmed) |
Despite phoning in his 2008 performance using some crib notes from his 2001 season, Nick Heidfeld has been granted another season with the German manufacturer alongside the already-confirmed form of Bobby Kubica, a move which rather ruins Fernando Alonso's hopes of a championship next season. Heidfeld's nationality is believed to have had a big say in the team's final decision, along with the photos Heidfeld has of Mario Theissen in a compromising position with a cactus.
McLaren - Mercedes
| Seat 1 | Lewis Hamilton (confirmed) | Seat 2 | Heikki Kovalainen (confirmed) |
Red Bull - Renault
| Seat 1 | Mark Webber (confirmed) | Seat 2 | Sebastian Vettel (confirmed) |
Toyota
| Seat 1 | Jarno Trulli (confirmed) | Seat 2 | Timo Glock (confirmed) |
Williams - Toyota
| Seat 1 | Nico Rosberg (confirmed) | Seat 2 | Kazuki Nakajima (confirmed) |
Williams have also confirmed the same driver line up as this year for their assault on 8th place in the 2009 constructors championship, Japanese driver Kazuki Nakajima winning a second year in the sport thanks to his fantastic on track performances and no thanks at all to his links with engine supplier Toyota. Test driver and race seat hopeful Nico Hulkenburg will have to console himself with another year of limited testing duties.
Renault
| Seat 1 | Fernando Alonso (probable) | Seat 2 | Nelson Piquet Jr (probable) |
| Romain Grosjean (possible) | |||
| Lucas di Grassi (possible) | |||
| Sebastien Bourdais (unlikely) |
With all the better seats now out of reach, the scene is set for Singapore race winner Fernando Alonso to cheerily fib to everyone that he always wanted to stay at Renault anyway because there's nothing he loves more than sucking in an underpowered, badly developed car. Or maybe he'll come up with a better line than that. In the other seat, some residual silly season excitement remains, as the vultures begin to stalk Nelson Piquet Jr to the point that you half expect Kevin Carter to pop up and take a Pulitzer winning snap of it. Lucas di Grassi is probably ahead by a nose in the race to be patsy to Alonso for 2009, though Piquet Jr is probably a phone call from his dad away from keeping his seat, while Grosjean will probably settle for a test berth, and Bourdais is little more than an outside punt.
Honda
| Seat 1 | Jenson Button (probable) | Seat 2 | Rubens Barrichello (possible) |
| Bruno Senna (possible) | |||
| Fernando Alonso (unlikely) |
Still no confirmation of anything from Honda's direction, though the rumours surrounding their courting of Alonso seem to have dried up quicker than their chances of scoring any more points this season. Despite displaying the sort of bumbling social inabilities of a Larry David sitcom character during his abortive glove-throwing in Singapore, Barrichello will probably get another season with the redoubtably environmental ones. That is unless the lure of Famous Surname Boy proves to be too much for Honda to resist.
Toro Rosso - Ferrari
| Seat 1 | Sebastien Buemi (probable) | Seat 2 | Bruno Senna (probable) |
| Sebastien Bourdais (possible) | |||
| Takuma Sato (unlikely) | |||
| Fernando Alonso (unlikely) |
A Seb is almost certain to feature in the Toro Rosso stable for 2009, but while Seb Bourdais faces an uncertain future with the squad, Seb Buemi has somehow come through a painfully average season of GP2 and a painfully average test session with the team at Jerez to be all but confirmed in one of the seats. Bourdais meanwhile, faces competition from Sato, Senna and somewhat implausibly, Alonso, to keep his seat for next year. The chances of him being successful are probably not worth calculating, but are certainly more likely than the two-time world champion deciding that this career move is the best one currently available to him.
Force India - Ferrari
| Seat 1 | Giancarlo Fisichella (confirmed) | Seat 2 | Adrian Sutil (confirmed) |
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
