What happened to the seven Formula One drivers Bleacher Report picked as future world champions in 2014

Back in 2014, the Bleacher Report tipped seven Formula 1 drivers to become future world champions, but where are they now?

11 years ago, Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Raikkonen and Jenson Button were the only drivers to have won the F1 world title as the 2014 season began.

Back then, the Bleacher Report picked out seven drivers to become world champions in the future, but only one managed to achieve the ultimate goal.

Daniel Ricciardo

The much-loved Australian has long been tipped to win at least one world title but failed to do so at Red Bull due to the emergence of Max Verstappen.

Ricciardo eventually left Red Bull back in 2018 and had spells at Renault, McLaren and AlphaTauri (Later renamed RB).

Ultimately, Ricciardo failed to win the world title but does have eight Grand Prix wins under his belt.

Valtteri Bottas

Back in 2014, a fresh-faced 24-year-old Bottas was racing for Williams and after impressing, moved to Mercedes in 2017.

Being a Mercedes driver gave the Finn his biggest chance of winning the world title. However, a certain driver named Hamilton would prove to be too good, and Bottas had to settle for second place.

In total, Bottas won 10 races for Mercedes before leaving to join Alfa Romeo. Now 35, Bottas returned to Mercedes as their reserve driver ahead of the 2025 season.

Daniil Kvyat

Russian Kvyat became the youngest driver to score a point in F1 history back in 2014 when he finished ninth for Toro Rosso at the Australian Grand Prix.

He was then promoted to Red Bull in 2015 before Verstappen replaced him in 2016.

Since then, a return to Toro Rosso happened before a stint as Alpine's reserve driver.

Nico Rosberg

The only man on the list to reach the pinnacle of motorsports, Rosberg won the world title back in 2016 when he got the better of old friend Hamilton.

Both racing for Mercedes, the once best friends became enemies as their relationship turned sour after a string of incidents during the heated battle.

After winning his first title, Rosberg shocked the F1 world by annoucing an immediate retirement.

Nico Rosberg won the 2016 F1 world title. Image: Getty

Nico Hulkenberg

German Hulkenberg was highly rated when he raced for the likes of Williams, Sauber and Force India.

In 2017, he finished 6th while driving for Renault at Silverstone.

However, spells at Haas and Sauber followed as he continues to search for a first podium in F1.

Jules Bianchi

Frenchman Bianchi was destined to one day become a Ferrari driver after his impressive performances for Marussia.

However, tragedy struck during the Japanese Grand Prix in October 2014.

Under dreadful conditions, Bianchi collided with a recovery vehicle which was being used to remove another car off the track.

As a result, Bianchi was taken to hospital after suffering serious injuries. In November, he was taken out of his artificial coma but remained unconscious and in a critical condition.

On July 17, 2015, Bianchi passed away at the age of just 25.

Jules Bianchi lost his life in 2015 after suffering serious injuries during the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix. Image: Getty

Kevin Magnussen

After finishing on the podium on his debut race for McLaren, big things were expected from Magnussen.

However, things didn't work well enough for the Dane to win the title.

Magnussen raced for Haas in 2024 before being replaced ahead of the 2025 season. He will instead play the role of test driver for the team.