{"id":51727,"date":"2025-08-08T02:37:14","date_gmt":"2025-08-08T02:37:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/51727\/"},"modified":"2025-08-08T02:37:14","modified_gmt":"2025-08-08T02:37:14","slug":"f1-driver-market-who-is-tied-down-for-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/51727\/","title":{"rendered":"F1 driver market \u2013 Who is tied down for 2026?"},"content":{"rendered":"

With plenty of the talk around the British Grand Prix surrounding the future of Max Verstappen<\/a> and George Russell<\/a>, Formula 1 \u2018silly season\u2019 is seemingly upon us once again.<\/p>\n

Much like seeing the first Easter egg hit the supermarket shelves on 27 December, the stage of the F1 season when discussions and theories over the next season\u2019s driver line-up appears to get earlier and earlier with each passing year.<\/p>\n

There are still several variables and a host of unknowns for the 2026 grid so, as we approach the second half of the current campaign, the question remains the same: \u2018Who goes where?\u2019<\/p>\n

There are a number of major factors at play that will ultimately determine who will be driving where \u2013 if at all \u2013 next year.<\/p>\n

Here, Motorsport.com takes a look at who could have the most impact on the makeup of the 2026 grid.<\/p>\n

The Max factor
\n \"Max <\/p>\n

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing<\/p>\n

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool<\/p>\n

Reigning world champion Verstappen may have a contract with Red Bull until 2028, but it is an open secret in the F1 paddock that his deal contains a number of performance-based break clauses.<\/p>\n

While Verstappen has put in some standout performances so far in 2025, it is expected that not all of those clauses have been met, and he would therefore be able to discuss his options \u2013 although there remains plenty of moving parts.<\/p>\n

Christian Horner\u2019s removal as Red Bull team principal, the untested Ford-assisted Red Bull Powertrains programme for next year and the relative performance of McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes, as well as the fact Verstappen is undoubtedly the number-one driver in his current team, will all feed into the decision.<\/p>\n

Merecedes team principal Toto Wolff has long been a keen \u2013 and rather public \u2013 admirer of Verstappen and could look to pounce if the situation arises, and that seemingly is the only open door to the Dutchman in a top team, should he be looking for a move.<\/p>\n

The second seat at Red Bull is also intriguing given the struggles recent incumbents have had \u2013 Yuki Tsunoda is out of contract this year and unlikely to have done enough to stay, while Isack Hadjar\u2019s impressive displays for sister team Racing Bulls could see the Frenchman make the switch.<\/p>\n

Russell and bustle
\n \"George <\/p>\n

George Russell, Mercedes<\/p>\n

Photo by: Sam Bloxham \/ Motorsport Images<\/p>\n

Verstappen\u2019s situation is likely to have an immediate impact on Russell, who is yet to ink an extension to his Mercedes deal, which expires at the end of the current season. He and Verstappen famously do not see eye to eye on many things, but could Wolff get them singing from the same Silver Arrows hymn sheet?<\/p>\n

If not, Russell could also look elsewhere \u2013 with Verstappen\u2019s Red Bull seat needing a replacement, while a switch to Aston Martin, with its first Adrian Newey-designed car set to hit the track in 2026, has also been mooted.<\/p>\n

Across the garage at Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli could also face an uncertain few weeks given his own contract also comes to an end this year. The rookie has caught the eye at times but is struggling for form at the moment \u2013 will Wolff keep faith or aim to park the teenager elsewhere on the grid to gain vital experience?<\/p>\n

\"Andrea <\/p>\n

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes<\/p>\n

Photo by: Erik Junius<\/p>\n

New kids on the block<\/p>\n

There are two extra seats for 2026, with Cadillac preparing to enter F1 as its 11th team.<\/p>\n

While unlikely to be able to attract a driver currently contracted to a top squad, the GM-backed project does have deep pockets as it looks to build from the ground up.<\/p>\n

Rumours have been rife for months that former Red Bull driver Sergio Perez is a preferred option and could be announced shortly as the first name in the Cadillac team for its debut year.<\/p>\n

Another experienced pilot linked with the team is Valtteri Bottas, currently the third driver at Mercedes, while the likes of Mick Schumacher, Zhou Guanyu and American Jak Crawford\u00a0\u2013 the current second-placed driver in the Formula 2 championship\u00a0\u2013 will be staying close to their phones in the coming days and weeks.<\/p>\n

In this article<\/p>\n

Be the first to know and subscribe for real-time news email updates on these topics<\/p>\n

Subscribe to news alerts<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With plenty of the talk around the British Grand Prix surrounding the future of Max Verstappen and George…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":51728,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[7573,2355,8895,2592,7572,1665,19528,1687,28551,6542,831,372,6537,2356,9047,9307,3723,7943,6543,1693,832,8166,3006,1469,6964,8549,3724,1470,14248,9734,371,7386,101,56,54,55,2922,7942],"class_list":["post-51727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-f1","tag-alex-albon","tag-alpine","tag-andrea-kimi-antonelli","tag-aston-martin-racing","tag-carlos-sainz","tag-charles-leclerc","tag-esteban-ocon","tag-f1","tag-f1-driver-market-u2013-who-is-tied-down-for-2026","tag-fernando-alonso","tag-ferrari","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-franco-colapinto","tag-gabriel-bortoleto","tag-george-russell","tag-haas-f1-team","tag-isack-hadjar","tag-lance-stroll","tag-lando-norris","tag-lewis-hamilton","tag-liam-lawson","tag-max-verstappen","tag-mclaren","tag-mercedes","tag-nico-hulkenberg","tag-oliver-bearman","tag-oscar-piastri","tag-pierre-gasly","tag-racing-bulls","tag-red-bull-racing","tag-sauber","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-williams","tag-yuki-tsunoda"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51727","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51727"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51727\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51728"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}