Nine F1 driver futures that still need resolving over the summer break

The F1 summer break has begun, and here are the drivers whose futures still need resolving before the start of the F1 2027 season.

As of July, 12 drivers are contracted beyond the 2026 season, including Pierre Gasly, Gabriel Bortoleto, Nico Hulkenberg, Valtteri Bottas, Sergio Perez, Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, George Russell, Max Verstappen and Alex Albon.

Carlos Sainz, meanwhile, sees his contract with Williams expire at the end of this campaign, but has an option to extend beyond this year.

There are also no guarantees that the above names will turn out for their current teams in 2027. Long-serving Red Bull driver Verstappen has been linked with an exit, but is contracted until 2028.

Piastri, likewise, is locked into a multi-year contract extension with McLaren that runs until at least the end of 2028.

However, according to reports, the Australian has been targeted by Red Bull in a potential swap deal with Verstappen.

F1 drivers who are contracted for 2027 season

• Alpine - Pierre Gasly, TBC
• Aston Martin - TBC
• Audi - Gabriel Bortoleto, Nico Hulkenberg
• Cadillac - Valtteri Bottas, Sergio Perez
• Ferrari - Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc
• Haas - TBC, TBC
• McLaren - Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri
• Mercedes - George Russell, TBC
• Racing Bulls - TBC, TBC
• Red Bull - Max Verstappen, TBC
• Williams - Carlos Sainz*, Alex Albon

Sainz is contracted until 2026 with an option to extend

Which F1 drivers need their futures deciding?

• Alpine - Franco Colapinto
• Aston Martin - Lance Stroll, Fernando Alonso
• Haas - Esteban Ocon, Oliver Bearman
• Mercedes - Kimi Antonelli
• Racing Bulls - Arvid Lindblad, Liam Lawson
• Red Bull - Isack Hadjar

Franco Colapinto

Franco Colapinto joined Alpine as a reserve driver to Pierre Gasly at the start of 2025 before his full-time seat was confirmed for the 2026 campaign in November.

The 22-year-old has endured a challenging time on the grid, collecting just 19 points in the drivers' championship standings.

Colapinto's best performance came at the Canadian Grand Prix in May, securing a sixth-place finish, and Alpine Managing Director Steve Nielsen admitted that he needs to see "more" from the Argentine for his contract to be extended beyond 2026.

“Well, everybody wants more,” Nielsen said on his future in June. “I think Franco is a driver that has been a slow starter, dare I say it. He’s getting better. He’s produced some good runs this year already. Miami was good. China was good. He’s improving.

“So I think he’s there on merit and when the time comes, we’ll make the decisions. If he’s good enough, he’ll stay, and if he’s not, then there’s a better option. That’s just Formula 1.”

Colapinto's current deal expires at the end of 2026, and at the time of writing, no decision has been made on his future.

Lance Stroll

Lance Stroll is another contracted until the end of the 2026 season, but as it stands, there are no active talks over his future but, when you are the billionaire owner's son, there doesn't really need to be. He has a job for life if he wants it.

Stroll has raced for the Silverstone-based outfit since 2019 - under its former Racing Point and current Aston Martin guises.

It's been a campaign to forget so far for Aston Martin and Stroll, who is pointless after 11 races.

But despite this incredibly challenging period, the 27-year-old is confident in the team's long-term future, firmly believing they will eventually reach their goals of fighting for race wins and world titles.

"We’ve got some incredibly talented people at the AMR Technology Campus and there’s huge potential with the tools like the new CoreWeave AIR Tunnel and the simulator,” Stroll commented in June.

“We have all the elements to become a winning team; it’s just about unlocking that potential.

“I firmly believe in this project, even though right now we’re experiencing some difficult times. The future is very bright, and I want to ride this tough spell out and be part of the journey we’re on.”

Fernando Alonso

Stroll's teammate, Fernando Alonso, is also waiting for his long-term future to be decided during the summer break.

The two-time world champion, who turned 45 in July, is in the final year of his contract with Aston Martin, having joined from Alpine in 2023.

Unlike Stroll, who has remained tight-lipped on contract talks, Alonso already confirmed in May that he will decide his F1 future during the August summer break.

"Sometime in the summer, I need to make a decision," the Spaniard said after the Miami Grand Prix.

"At the moment, I didn't sit with myself to think about that. I never thought about it in a deep way, and I need to speak with my family as well. I need to speak with my people first and decide what to do next year."

An imminent decision could therefore be on the horizon.

Esteban Ocon

Esteban Ocon's seat is under threat ahead of the 2027 campaign.

Ocon's poor form during 2025, which saw him finish 15th in the drivers' championship, has continued into 2026.

The Haas driver has scored just three points from 11 races, claiming to struggle with the inconsistencies of the VF-26.

Currently 15 points behind teammate Oliver Bearman after the Hungarian Grand Prix, the Frenchman is under huge pressure to earn a contract extension, with Haas reportedly considering Rafael Camara as Bearman's next team-mate.

However, when asked about his future earlier in July, Ocon claimed he had "nothing to announce", but discussions will soon happen.

"Of course nothing to announce yet,” Ocon stated. “The summer break will be quite busy. We will see. At the moment we're focused on this race and we'll see what happens.

“There's always many options. At the moment, we will discuss with the team first. I've been here for two years. I've been convinced by Ayao [Komatsu] to come here. The first discussion will happen with this team for sure.”

Oliver Bearman

Bearman made his full F1 debut last year for Haas with an upper hand over teammate Ocon continuing into the 2026 campaign.

The 21-year-old has endured a challenging mid-season slump, including a 19th-place finish at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

As it stands, Bearman isn't contracted to Haas for the 2027 season, but he is attracting interest from elsewhere.

Before the Belgian Grand Prix in mid-July, the youngster was asked about links to Red Bull after rumours surfaced about him replacing four-time champion Verstappen.

"It's quite flattering to hear things like that, to with a team like Red Bull, who are incredibly successful and to be connected with them in any way, even if it's just rumours is very nice," he said.

"But like I said, it's just rumours, and I'm fully focused on what I'm doing here with Haas at the moment."

Bearman's likely ultimate target is a seat at Ferrari, making his debut at the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix for the Scuderia as a replacement for Sainz.

Kimi Antonelli

Kimi Antonelli has enjoyed an incredible campaign for Mercedes so far and is a huge favourite to win the drivers' championship.

The 19-year-old has established a 50-point lead on Lewis Hamilton at the top after winning six of the 11 races and claiming nine podiums.

Having put himself in a strong position for the summer break, all eyes are now on where his future lies.

Antonelli's seat at Mercedes for 2027 hasn't been confirmed, but team principal Toto Wolff has already indicated that the teenager and teammate Russell will continue next season.

“We haven’t officially said anything yet, but given how the season is going, it’s the only logical consequence at this point,” Wolff said.

Wolff believes continuity is the right approach while the team works through those technical issues.

“We need to make the car more stable, and starting to change drivers now isn’t the right thing to do,” he continued, as Antonelli looks set to continue at Mercedes.

Arvid Lindblad

Red Bull’s sister team has yet to decide upon their F1 2027 line-up, and with junior drivers rising through the ranks all the time, the next rising star could already be on their radar.

Arvid Lindblad, who is the only full-time rookie on the F1 grid, has performed admirably during his first campaign.

The 18-year-old notably scored points on his debut in Australia and has since secured seven top-10 finishes out of 11 Grands Prix.

With his contract expiring at the end of the season, no update on his future has emerged, but he will be looking to follow in the footsteps of his Racing Bulls predecessor, Isack Hadjar, who earned a rapid promotion to Red Bull after an exceptional 2025.

Liam Lawson

Lindblad's teammate, Liam Lawson, also sees his contract expire at the end of 2026, but is deserving of a new deal after producing strong performances in 2026.

Currently 20 points ahead of Lindblad, Lawson has collected 43 points and is ninth in the drivers' championship.

The New Zealand star has rebuilt his career after a difficult Red Bull promotion and subsequent return to the Racing Bulls and has already said he would sign a new contract.

"I haven’t really thought about my future plans at the moment. It’s too early to talk about that,” Lawson said at the start of June.

“I’m focused on maintaining the consistency we’ve shown in the first few races of the season and continuing that through to the end of the year.”

Even so, he made clear he would prefer an earlier decision than last time.

“Of course, I don’t want to wait until December for a decision,” he added. “But it’s not my choice. “If it were up to me, I’d sign a contract for next year right now.”

Isack Hadjar

Hadjar was promoted to Red Bull for the 2026 campaign, and the 21-year-old has vindicated that decision.

The Frenchman has secured seventh successive top-six finishes and is eighth in the drivers' championship, 31 points behind teammate Verstappen.

Naturally, this should point to Hadjar extending his future with the team beyond 2026, and Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies has confirmed this as the "logical" decision.

"It is good news that we have a strong second driver for the first time in quite a long time,” Mekies admitted.

“We haven’t discussed the future yet, but everyone can see that Isack is doing an excellent job. So we will make a logical decision.”

Who are the drivers looking to join the F1 grid?

While the above drivers are waiting for their futures to be resolved, others could join the mix next season.

Yuki Tsunoda is one name who will be looking for a pathway back into Red Bull after losing his full-time race seat at the end of the 2025 season.

The 26-year-old finished fifth bottom in the drivers' championship last term, with Hadjar replacing him.

Currently Red Bull's reserve driver, tasked with taking part in debriefs, spending time in their simulator, and generally acting as another pair of eyes and ears for the squad, Tsunoda is hungry to get back into the action and could potentially rejoin the Racing Bulls team.

Nikola Tsolov is another who could join the F1 grid in 2027. The junior Red Bull driver is currently leading the F2 World Championship with Campos Racing and has been strongly linked to Racing Bulls.

Tsolov could follow in Lindblad's footsteps after he became the youngest-ever F2 race winner, aged just 17, with victory in the Jeddah Sprint Race before being promoted to F1.

Rafael Camara is trailing Tsolov by 22 points in the race for the F2 drivers' championship, and the 21-year-old could also secure a promotion to F1 in 2027.

Camara is expected to become a reserve driver for Haas next season, allowing Jack Doohan to join the team full-time after losing his seat at Alpine early in the 2025 season.

In the F3 championship, meanwhile, Ugo Ugochukwu is turning heads for his performances, and there's an influx of support for him to earn a seat with Cadillac alongside Colton Herta.

Herta made his second appearance at a Grand Prix last weekend, deputising for Bottas during practice at Hungary, and he's emerged as a possible contender for a seat as Perez continues to attract interest from higher up the grid.

Similarly, Alpine reserve driver Paul Aron has been linked with Colapinto's seat in the past, with the former Mercedes driver becoming a potential threat to the Argentine.

At the same time, Alex Dunne completed a high-profile switch from the McLaren Driver Development Programme to the Alpine Academy ahead of the 2026 racing season, and could also challenge for a spot ahead of 2027.