With the 2010 World Championship consigned to the history books, the Formula One grid is gearing up for next season. Sixteen out of twenty-four seats have already been spoken for as Lotus and Williams have each confirmed both their drivers.
After Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes confirmed that their duos will carry on for 2011, Lotus has followed suit in announcing that both Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen will be retained for next season as well.
Taking Nico Hulkenberg’s seat at Williams, meanwhile, will be GP2 champion Pastor Maldonado, driving alongside Rubens Barrichello for an all-South American line-up. Hulkenberg remains optimistic that he’ll be on the grid next season, but only Force India, Toro Rosso and Hispania have yet to confirm either of their drivers and both Renault and Virgin still have a seat each up for grabs, leaving his possibilities rapidly constricting.
With most teams carrying over their drivers, one exception is Sauber, which will keep Kamui Kobayashi on board, but after replacing Pedro de la Rosa with Nick Heidfeld, have replaced both with GP2 runner-up Sergio Perez for next season. Follow the jump to see who’ll be where for next season.
[Source: Lotus, Williams | Image: Cristina Quicler/Getty]
2011 Formula One World Championship
Red Bull-Renault
Sebastian Vettel
Mark Webber
Reserve/Test Driver: TBA
McLaren-Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton
Jenson Button
Reserve/Test Driver: TBA
Fernando Alonso
Felipe Massa
Reserve/Test Driver: Jules Bianchi
Mercedes GP
Michael Schumacher
Nico Rosberg
Reserve/Test Driver: TBA
Renault
Robert Kubica
TBA
Reserve/Test Driver: TBA
Williams-Cosworth
Rubens Barrichello
Pastor Maldonado
Reserve/Test Driver: Valtteri Bottas
Force India-Mercedes
TBA
TBA
Reserve/Test Driver: TBA
Sauber-Ferrari
Kamui Kobayashi
Sergio Pérez
Reserve/Test Driver: Esteban Gutiérrez
Toro Rosso-Ferrari
TBA
TBA
Reserve/Test Driver: Daniel Ricciardo
Lotus-Renault
Jarno Trulli
Heikki Kovalainen
Reserve/Test Driver: TBA
Hispania-Cosworth
TBA
TBA
Reserve/Test Driver: TBA
Virgin-Cosworth
Timo Glock
TBA
Reserve/Test Driver: TBA