Follow us on Google Discover The 2025 Formula 1 driver market hasn’t thrown up any surprises yet, but speculation is already starting for the following season.
Formula 1’s 2026 regulation changes are going to create a new pecking order in the paddock.
Cadillac are entering as the 11th team on the grid, Sauber will become the Audi works team, and Aston Martin will switch from Mercedes to Honda power units.
A handful of drivers are still out of contract for next season, including George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli, but far more will enter the final year of their deals in 2026.
TEAMDRIVER 1DRIVER 2AlpinePierre GaslyN/AAston MartinFernando AlonsoLance StrollAudiGabriel BortoletoNico HulkenbergCadillacValtteri BottasSergio PerezFerrariCharles LeclercLewis HamiltonHaasEsteban OconOliver BearmanMcLarenLando NorrisOscar PiastriMercedesN/AN/ARacing BullsN/AN/ARed Bull RacingMax VerstappenN/AWilliamsAlex AlbonCarlos Sainz2026 confirmed F1 drivers
All it would take is one top driver to decide they want to switch teams for the domino effect to start, and movement to happen up and down the paddock.
Some drivers appear to already be positioning themselves to move on if they’re not impressed with their current team’s offering, and another opportunity comes their way.
Oscar Piastri has been linked with Ferrari as tensions rise in the McLaren camp between him and Lando Norris.
A seat could become available at the Scuderia if Charles Leclerc decides he’s waited long enough for a championship-challenging car and Fred Vasseur’s team don’t deliver in 2026.
Leclerc’s camp are reportedly in discussions with Mercedes over a potential move in 2027, and team principal Toto Wolff has already made his feelings clear about the Monegasque driver.
READ MORE: Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend
Photo by Jay Hirano/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty ImagesToto Wolff once called Charles Leclerc a ‘champion in the making’ amid 2027 Mercedes rumours
After the 2019 Bahrain Grand Prix, when an engine issue denied Leclerc his first F1 victory, Wolff was quick to praise the Monegasque driver via Formula 1’s official website.
He said: “In Leclerc, I think we’re seeing a young champion in the making who was the emotional winner [on Sunday]. [He was the] fastest man and fastest machine. He got all the cruel side of motor racing, and it was our [good] fortune.
“He has a good personality. He is a humble young man, and he’s very fast. The combination of speed, personality and being able to temper your emotions in both directions is a great ingredient.
Grand Prix starts165Pole positions27Podiums48Wins8Fastest laps10Points1603Best championship result2nd (2022)Charles Leclerc’s Formula 1 career
Accurate as of the 2025 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix
“I know that many other drivers who have the lion in them, like he certainly has, would have reacted in a much more controversial way about the third place and would have been angry and would have displayed that. None of that you see with Charles.
“We have always expected him [Leclerc] to be a threat. “He is in a great car and has the skills and the character to be very successful. It’s a challenge that we really enjoy, and I’m sure Valtteri and Lewis will enjoy.
“We want to fight against the best ones in the best machines. When you saw Lewis fighting Sebastian in a car and engine that wasn’t on Sebastian’s level, it motivates them even more.”
READ MORE: All you need to know about Mercedes F1 CEO and team principal Toto Wolff
Could Charles Leclerc end up racing for Mercedes in Formula 1 one day?
Leclerc hasn’t hidden his frustration with Ferrari in recent races, with the Scuderia unlikely to win a Grand Prix this year.
Whether the current team at Maranello are capable of building a title-winning car based on the evidence of this season is hard to believe, but a lot will change over the winter break.
Ferrari tied Leclerc down to a long-term deal, but like every F1 contract, there will be break clauses available on both sides.
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Which F1 team will Charles Leclerc be driving for in 2027?
This then raises the question of whether Mercedes would make a move for Leclerc.
Wolff hasn’t hidden his admiration for Max Verstappen, which suggests that if the right driver is available, he won’t hesitate to try and sign them.
If Wolff is committed to Antonelli being Mercedes’ long-term number one, then replacing Russell with Leclerc doesn’t make a huge amount of sense.
However, a combination of Russell and Leclerc would be frightening, but potentially not easy to manage.