Red Bull name 'ideal' F1 2027 line-up as 'good drivers' contact team over seats

Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies has revealed the two men he hopes to have as part of his 2027 after calls from several 'good drivers'.

There's now just one race left before Formula One fans will be made to endure the brutal four-week summer break without any on-track action.

However, that doesn't mean that the weeks following the Hungarian Grand Prix will be without any drama, as fans, pundits and F1 teams themselves will start looking ahead to the 2027 season.

With over half of the current 22-man grid out of contract at the end of this year, it is widely expected that the 2027 grid could look completely different, with several big names securing moves.

Undoubtedly the biggest story regarding a driver's future centres on four-time champion Max Verstappen, who has been strongly linked both with a move to another team and possibly an early retirement in recent months.

With that in mind, several drivers have been linked with taking Verstappen's seat, with Oscar Piastri and George Russell believed to be the most likely options should the Dutchman take their seats at McLaren or Mercedes.

However, as it stands, Mekies remains confident that Red Bull will be able to keep hold of their star driver while also confirming that both the team and Verstappen have received enquiries from elsewhere on the grid.

"It's working in both directions," Mekies told Sky Sports. "It's completely natural and I think that's what you guys were reporting before.

"It's completely natural Max gets called from everyone because he's the best driver in the world and, equally, if you are a top team, you are going to get calls from many of these good drivers around as well. That's natural."

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Laurent Mekies confirms dream 2027 lineup

It's widely been reported that Red Bull will deliver a series of new upgrades following the summer break as part of their hopes of catching up to the frontrunners this season.

And should they manage to do so, the Red Bull team principal remains confident that he will be able to keep both Verstappen and Isack Hadjar at the team for the foreseeable future.

He added: "Is it a distraction for us? Not really. The full focus is to get that car as fast as it can, then you will keep your best driver in the world and we also see there's a massive growth of Isack [Hadjar] alongside Max.

"That for us is the ideal pairing and we try to make sure we can keep that pairing.

"All we need to do is to continue to progress with the car...When you are one second away, the drivers are going to be frustrated, Max is going to be frustrated. And we know it's not the position we want to stay.

"Red Bull and Red Bull Racing only have one objective, it's to win, and it's the same objective that Max has."

As it stands, Verstappen is only seventh in the drivers' standings and is 113 points behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli.

But, after he finished on the podium in two of the last three races, the Dutchman may now be feeling more confident about a future at Red Bull heading into what could prove to be a crucial summer break.