What is meant by the Silly Season in F1

The Silly SeasonThe period where the driver market is in full swing. Pundits speculate on where available drivers would be best suited... There's more... refers to the driver marketF1 Drivers are private entities, with their own managers, trainers and support personnel, contracted to a team for a year... There's more... movements, with drivers and teams beginning their negotiations for the next season and possibly subsequent seasons. 

F1F1 is the pinnacle of open wheel,  single seater car racing and arguably the highest level of any motorsport globally.... There's more... drivers are contracted to teams for a year or two, but some have multi-year deals that extend beyond four or five. Max VerstappenMax Verstappen (No 1 as 2021 World Champion, otherwise No 33) is a Belgium born F1 driver, racing under a... There's more... is contracted to Red BullRed Bull Racing, also simply known as Red Bull or RBR and competing as Oracle Red Bull Racing in 2022,... There's more... until the end of 2028. 

When a driverOK, so we all know what the driver is, right. I've always liked the description that F1 drivers are like... There's more... is coming available, the negotiations start and the punditspundit; plural noun: an expert in a particular subject or field who is frequently called upon to give their opinions... There's more... love to speculate about all of the potential outcomes. 

An early move often triggers the period by announcing a driver and essentially taking an option out of play, this can trigger a run of deals as parties scramble to lock in the best option for the next season. 

With Sergio PerezSergio (Checo) Perez (No 11) is a Mexican born F1 driver, racing under a Mexican licence and contracted to Red... There's more... and Pierre Gasley recently announcing contract extensions, that leaves seven drivers looking to secure a seat in 2023.

• Fernando AlonsoFernando Alonso (No 14) is a Spanish born F1 driver contracted to Alpine See more on Fernando on our profile... There's more... – Looking very comfortable in the car and getting results so likely to re-sign with AlpineAlpine F1 Team, competing as BWT Alpine F1 Team, is a Formula One constructor which made its debut at the... There's more....
• Sebastian VettelSebastian Vettel (No 5) is a German-born F1 driver contracted to Aston Martin in 2022. See more Sebastian information on... There's more... – Is said to be happy with progress at Astin Martin and likely to re-sign.
• Lance StrollLance Stroll (No 18) is a Canadian-born F1 driver contracted to Aston Martin in 2022. Check out our driver profile... There's more... – struggling to keep up with his teammate but is in a strong position as it’s his family’s team.
• Yuki TsunodaYuki Tsunoda (No 22) is a Japanese-born F1 driver contracted to Scuderia AlphaTauri in 2022.  See more information about Yuki... There's more... – Holding his own but 2023 is possibly questionable. 
• Nicholas LatifiNicholas Latifi (No 6) is a Canadian-born, F1 driver contracted to Williams Racing in 2022. Read more on Nicholas on... There's more... – Said to be a ‘pay driver’ and struggling at the bottom of the timing sheets. 
• Alex AlbonAlexander (Alex) Albon (No 23) is a British-born, Thai, F1 driver contracted to Williams Racing in 2022.  See Alex's driver... There's more... – In a good place and working well with the team. Should be in a seat in 2023. 
• Zhou GuanyuZhou Guanyu (No 24) is a Chinese-born, and China's first, F1 driver contracted to Alfa Romeo in 2022. For more... There's more... – Said to be a ‘pay driver’ but holding his own and a major play for F1 in the Chinese market. 

Only time will tell, roll on the silly season…