It's only September and the 2018 grid is almost complete

[kals]

What a damp squib the silly season has been. With the news of Bottas staying at Mercedes the remaining open seats for 2018 are:

Williams - will Massa stay on or retire? Will Kubica return?
Sauber - both seats are open although smart money is on Ericsson staying and being joined by LeClerc
Toro Rosso - Sainz is heading to Renault and Gasly is expected to join
Force India - Perez is near to remaining with the team

I think that's it. Anything I'm missing? And no @Antonov that's not an open invitation for you to fanboy-fawn about Palmer not being hired for an open seat.

[John]

Let's guess and then see how wrong were were, a couple of months from now:

Williams: Stroll and Kubica (Just because it's the most interesting line-up of all available options).
Sauber: LORD SAVIOUR ETERNAL GLORIOUS ERICSSON / LeClerc (or is it Leclerc?)
Toro Rosso: Gasly / Kvyat - Not too convincing of a lineup, to be honest.
Force India: Perez/Ocon will stick around for another year.

[Antonov]

Williams - will Massa stay on or retire? Will Kubica return?
Sauber - both seats are open although smart money is on Ericsson staying and being joined by LeClerc
Toro Rosso - Sainz is heading to Renault and Gasly is expected to join
Force India - Perez is near to remaining with the team

Williams - Stroll & Perez
Sauber - Ericsson and Leclerc
Toro Rosso - Gasly and Matsushitta (obviously part of the Honda deal)
Force India - Wehrlein and Ocon
Safety car driver: Jolyon Palmer

[Everso Biggyballies]

Williams - Stroll & Perez
Sauber - Ericsson and Leclerc
Toro Rosso - Gasly and Matsushitta (obviously part of the Honda deal)
Force India - Wehrlein and Ocon
Safety car driver: Jolyon Palmer

Williams: Stroll and Massa (unless Williams can persuade Martina to overlook their under 25 block)
Sauber:
Force India: Ericsson and Leclerc
Toro Rosso: Kvyat and Gasly. (Matsushita wont gain his Superlicense)
Force : Perez and Ocon.
SC driver will be Bernd Maylander.... Palmer will be at best the FIA suite toilet cleaner. Plenty of shit going on in the FIA suite.

[Kai-Star]

Alonso's still saying he could go anywhere...

[Cheeveer]

Swedish media is with every story referring to Williams and Stroll as "POSSIBLY ERICSSON'S FUTURE TEAM" or "COULD BECOME ERICSSON'S TEAMMATE". Even saw a story with the tagline "THE F1 VETERAN IS FEELING THE PRESSURE" (Massa).

[MonteCristo]

Well, that's one way to make Stroll look good.

*hides from pitchfork wielding Swedes*

[John]

Well, that's one way to make Stroll look good.

*hides from pitchfork wielding Swedes*

[MonteCristo]

Well, that's one way to make Stroll look good.

*hides from pitchfork wielding Swedes*

*puts on armour*

[Cheeveer]

Well, that's one way to make Stroll look good.

*hides from pitchfork wielding Swedes*

Don't think I can ever defend Ericsson. He's been uninspiring in F1 since day 1.

Sorry.

[John]

Give Felix a drive.

[kals]

Well, that's one way to make Stroll look good.

*hides from pitchfork wielding Swedes*

Don't think I can ever defend Ericsson. He's been uninspiring in motorsport since day 1.

Sorry.

Corrected

[John]

The way I see it, it's nice to have a countryman in F1. Albeit not our best one. Swedish motorsport is in dire straits at the moment, so anything that can promote youngsters and the sport in general in Sweden is welcome. It adds something to the races for me, as the Swedish commentary focuses more on the midfield to tail-end of the field during races, which gives us plenty of information regarding all the battles going on during a race.

That said, I would love for him not to be so...awfully slow. It's embarrassing to see. I think I would be even more ashamed if he were to somehow wrestle that Williams-drive for someone more deserving.

Regarding that Williams drive, Kubica have apparently teamed up with Nico Rosberg as a manager/PR Consultant in order to get him that Williams-seat next to Stroll next year.

[John]

So both Perez and Ocon confirmed at FI.

That leaves us with one seat available at Williams, Toro Rosso and McLaren, and two seats at Sauber left to be confirmed.

[kals]

Speaking of Williams, I made mention of this a few days ago

Robert Kubica is in frame to test for the Williams Formula 1 team as it evaluates its 2018 driver options, Autosport has learned.

Williams could assess Kubica as a potential replacement for Felipe Massa, who is considering finally retiring at the end of the 2017 F1 season.

With Williams running out of options for Lance Stroll's team-mate after Force India confirmed it will keep Sergio Perez next year, rumours are gathering pace that Kubica is high on Williams's shortlist of drivers for 2018.

The team is set to offer Kubica a test in a 2014-spec F1 car some time before next month's Japanese Grand Prix.

It is believed Williams is aiming to do the test at a European circuit and on the Friday of either the Malaysian or Japanese GP to avoid media attention.

Kubica, whose F1 career was interrupted by life-threatening injuries from a rally crash in 2011, tested '12 and '17 F1 cars with Renault this year in an effort to prove he could return to grand prix racing.

But Renault eventually opted for Carlos Sainz Jr as Nico Hulkenberg's 2018 team-mate.

Title sponsor Martini is believed to have a strong say in Williams's driver choice, and it is yet to be seen if the company would be happy with Kubica as a brand ambassador for its global PR campaigns.

Earlier this week it was announced that reigning F1 world champion Nico Rosberg had become part of Kubica's management team.

Rosberg, who drove for Williams from 2006-09 and is well-established at Grove, could potentially take on a supporting brand ambassador role for Martini if Kubica joins Williams.