By alley - Jul 11, 2016, 7:31 AM ET

ANALYSIS: Inside the Formula E silly season

The race to secure the remaining 2016-17 Formula E drives has intensified after the grid ticked past half-full last week.

DS Virgin Racing's

confirmation of Jose Maria Lopez

and Sam Bird was swiftly followed by the ousted Jean-Eric Vergne's confirmation at the new Techeetah entry, alongside Ma Qing Hua.

That sets Antonio Felix da Costa up for a move to another team after two years with Aguri, with Andretti looking likely.

WHICH TEAMS HAVE SEATS GOING?

Assuming da Costa will join Robin Frijns at Andretti, there are seven seats remaining.

Two of those are at the incoming Jaguar squad, which is known to be looking at drivers outside of the series as well as current competitors.

Mahindra and NextEV have also yet to confirm either of their drivers, while Venturi has a space going alongside the

returning Stephane Sarrazin

WHO NEEDS A SEAT?

Nine of the top 10 drivers in the championship standings have had their 2016-17 drives confirmed, with Nick Heidfeld the outlier.

The German's Mahindra teammate Bruno Senna, outgoing champion Nelson Piquet Jr, Oliver Turvey, Mike Conway and Simona de Silvestro are the other drivers who saw out the FE season but have yet to confirm their plans.

Heidfeld finished 10th with Mahindra, and although no contract is signed he is keen to continue, with Senna's future less certain.

WHERE WILL PIQUET GO?

Mahindra team principal Dilbagh Gill spoke of the team's need of a driver that can help it achieve its ambition of moving forward.

One driver who ticks that box is Piquet, the inaugural FE drivers' champion who has had an intensely trying season after sticking with NextEV TCR.

Adrian Campos backed Piquet's move into FE and the Spaniard's team supported Team China Racing/NextEV in the opening season, diverted some of its resources towards Mahindra for 2015/16 and is working solely with Gill's team for the next campaign.

That adds logic to a Mahindra move, although Piquet has been linked to Jaguar and has been in discussions to remain at NextEV.

NEXTEV KEEN ON CONTINUITY

Martin Leach, NextEV president, has often talked of the team's 2015-16 pairing of Piquet and Oliver Turvey as the strongest on the grid.

Turvey has shone in his debut FE season, outperforming Piquet at several events and beating him in the drivers' championship.

The British driver is under contract at McLaren as a development driver and therefore unlikely to be a Jaguar target.

Like Piquet, he said he was tempted to remain loyal to the team that gave him his first shot in the series, regardless of its season-two struggles.

WHEN WILL WE KNOW?

While Jaguar holds the most interest, its desire to hold off confirming anything until pre-season testing at Donington Park in August (or even later) means Mahindra could be key to things clicking into place.

The team wanted its plans confirmed within a fortnight of the finale so it can complete its manufacturer testing with its driver lineup.

If that announcement is swift, the remaining pieces of the puzzle should fall into place soon after.

CONFIRMED 2016-17 DRIVER LINEUP SO FAR:

Renault e.dams: Sebastien Buemi, Nico Prost
Abt Audi Sport: Lucas di Grassi, Daniel Abt
DS Virgin Racing: Sam Bird, Jose Maria Lopez
Dragon Racing: Jerome d'Ambrosio, Loic Duval
Mahindra: TBC
Venturi: Stephane Sarrazin, TBC
Andretti: Robin Frijns, TBC
Techeetah: Jean-Eric Vergne, Ma Qing Hua
NextEV: TBC
Jaguar: TBC