2019 Formula 1 driver line-up 11 down 9 to go

Thereafter the dominoes fell, as a result, leaving more than half the grid confirmed with now nine seats still up for grabs, but no place with the Big Three as Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull now have their drivers confirmed.

Of the rest, McLaren have confirmed an all-new driver line-up with Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris while Renault have paired Ricciardo with Nico Hulkenberg.

The swap between Kimi Raikkonen and Charles Leclerc has taken away a seat which many believed would be free, instead, the veteran Finn will return to the team that gave him his break back in 2001 for another two years in the top flight.

This leaves a couple of seats up for grabs at Williams who have lost Lance Stroll and the perks that came with the billionaire family.

Stroll will drive for his father's Force India Racing Point team next year and Sergio Perez seems to have a contract in his pocket to keep him in pink for another year.

Red Bull driver consultant Helmut Marko made it clear that there are ten drivers vying for the two seats with their Toro Rosso junior team, and news of a seat fitting by their former driver Sebastien Buemi has fueled suggestions the Swiss driver is on track for a return to F1 after an eight-year absence.

The second Sauber seat is likely to be a toss-up between retaining Marcus Ericsson or taking on Ferrari backed Antonio Giovinazzi. The power balance within the team will be revealed when that decision is made.

Haas are likely to keep Kevin Magnussen, but the jury is out on Romain Grosjean's future with the American team who by all accounts are being inundated with enquiries with drivers keen to join the Best of the Rest team.

If Grosjean is shown the door Giovinazzi could get the nod while Esteban Ocon and Stoffel Vandoorne are both desperately seeking work next year and wait in the wings.