Forget everything you thought you knew about F1’s silly season. Three driver announcements in the same week emerging from the summer break sounds like chaos, but every single one of them was a contract renewal. Max Verstappen staying at Red Bull until 2030. Carlos Sainz remaining at Williams. Alex Albon doing likewise. This is not silly season. This is sensible season, and if it feels slightly underwhelming, that is because it is.
Still, the dominos have to fall somewhere, and as reported by Motorsport.com, there are still enough open seats and nervous drivers to keep things interesting over the coming months. Here is where every team stands right now.
Mercedes: Already Done
Kimi Antonelli and George Russell are both locked in at Mercedes for 2027, and honestly, why would you change anything? The team leads both championships, and Antonelli, in only his second full season, is the man most likely to be world champion come November. Russell is 59 points behind his team-mate in the standings but is not out of the title picture yet, which is a position that would have looked extremely generous to him at the start of the year. Mercedes has no problem to solve here, which is about as comfortable a position as a team can be in.
Ferrari: Two Happy Drivers, For Now
Charles Leclerc signed a new multi-year deal earlier this year and remains deeply committed to Ferrari, presumably still hoping the Scuderia will eventually build him the championship-winning car he deserves. Lewis Hamilton confirmed earlier in the season that he is also contracted for 2027, which is fair enough given that he is second in the drivers’ standings and has looked revitalised in red. The Ferrari team orders debate will not go away, but at least both men will be around to have that argument next year as well.
McLaren: Norris and Piastri Are Going Nowhere
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are both signed up at McLaren for 2027. The Verstappen-to-McLaren speculation that did the rounds earlier in the season was almost certainly posturing; Piastri’s manager Mark Webber shut down any suggestion of the Australian departing, and Norris seems perfectly content as a one-team man. With Norris holding the reigning champion title and McLaren bringing fresh upgrades to Zandvoort, there is no reason for anyone to be moving anywhere.
Red Bull: Verstappen Sorted, Hadjar Likely
Max Verstappen has now signed a two-year extension on top of his existing deal, keeping him at Red Bull until the end of 2030. By that point he will have spent 15 seasons with the team. The announcement landed ahead of the Dutch GP, which is a nice piece of theatre for the home crowd.
“I am really pleased with the contract extension. We have the best people and I’m excited to keep working together with everyone to get back to the top again.” – Max Verstappen
Team principal Laurent Mekies, who took over from Christian Horner just over a year ago, is understood to have been central to securing the deal. Verstappen has been consistently complimentary about Mekies’ leadership style, which tells you a fair amount about how the previous regime felt by comparison.
The second seat should be a formality. Isack Hadjar has been impressive this season, has pushed Verstappen in qualifying, and Red Bull would be foolish to unsettle him without good reason. His wrist injury has forced him to sit out the Dutch GP, handing Liam Lawson a temporary return. Hadjar will be watching closely, as anyone in his position should be.
Racing Bulls: The Grid’s Most Awkward Puzzle
This is where things genuinely get interesting. Racing Bulls has Lawson, who has been excellent, and Arvid Lindblad, who has impressed in his rookie year. That would make a sensible pairing. The complication is Nikola Tsolov, the F2 championship leader and Red Bull junior who is pushing hard for an F1 seat. Aiming to become Bulgaria’s first Formula 1 driver, Tsolov has genuine pace, including a rare Silverstone feature and sprint double. His occasional tendency to make overly ambitious overtaking moves, most notably his collision with Sebastian Montoya in the Hungarian sprint, is the only thing working against him.
Three drivers for two seats is never a comfortable equation, and one of these three is going to be very disappointed. Lawson will be hoping his Red Bull stand-in role gives him enough leverage to stay at Racing Bulls, or at least attract interest from elsewhere if he does not.
Alpine: Gasly Solid, Colapinto Needs to Deliver
Pierre Gasly is contracted and committed at Alpine, and the team’s midfield resurgence under Flavio Briatore’s stewardship has made that a far more attractive proposition than it was a year ago. Franco Colapinto has taken a significant step forward this year and has occasionally outperformed Gasly, with his Miami and Canadian performances standing out. The problem is consistency, particularly in qualifying, where too many anonymous afternoons have blunted his case. He needs to be better. If he is not, Alpine has Paul Aron and Gabriele Mini waiting.
Haas: Bearman Stays, Ocon’s Future Cloudy
Oliver Bearman will almost certainly be at Haas for a third consecutive year, with Ferrari’s line-up settled and no obvious path elsewhere. The more pressing question is what happens to Esteban Ocon, who has not made the impact the team had hoped for. Haas has been testing potential replacements in private sessions, with Ryo Hirakawa, F2 champion Leonardo Fornaroli, and Ferrari junior Rafael Camara all in the frame. Yuki Tsunoda has also been mentioned, though IndyCar discussions with Meyer Shank suggest his future may not be in F1 at all.
Audi, Williams: Settled and Moving On
Audi has Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg on long-term arrangements, and there is no sensible reason to change either. The youth-experience balance works, and the internal atmosphere appears genuinely harmonious, which is rarer than it sounds in Formula 1.
Williams, meanwhile, has locked in Albon and Sainz for another year. The cynical take is that neither driver had anywhere more appealing to go. The generous take is that both believe in James Vowles’ project. Both things can be true simultaneously.
Aston Martin and Cadillac: The Wildcard Corners
Lance Stroll is at Aston Martin for as long as his father owns the team, which is to say indefinitely. The more fascinating question is what Fernando Alonso decides to do. Adrian Newey wants him to stay, the team’s Hungary upgrade delivered nearly two seconds of lap time improvement, but Alonso recently became a father and, with his 46th year around the sun approaching, might have other priorities. If he walks, the replacement candidates include whichever Racing Bulls driver misses the cut, Ocon, Tsunoda via his Honda connections, or junior Jak Crawford.
Over at Cadillac, Sergio Perez is likely to stay given that the Williams route has closed, and the team values him highly. Valtteri Bottas has been uneven but is improving. Colton Herta’s struggles in F2 have complicated Cadillac’s dream of promoting an American driver, which leaves Crawford and potentially Camara as the names to watch.
A Grid Settling Into Predictability
The 2027 grid is shaping up to be a remarkably stable one relative to recent years. Most of the headline acts are staying put, the title protagonists are all locked in, and the genuine uncertainty is concentrated in the lower half of the grid where Racing Bulls, Haas and Aston Martin have decisions to make. It is tidy. It is sensible. It is, frankly, a little dull. But in a sport that spent years lurching from one contractual drama to the next, perhaps a quiet silly season is exactly what everyone needed. Do not worry, though. Someone will cause chaos before the year is out. They always do.
