With the F1 summer break looming, the key question pertaining to the driver market is what choices Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso make.
The two world champions continue to hold the keys to the driver market, particularly with regards to the bottom half of the F1 grid.
Fernando Alonso and Max Verstappen remain central to the F1 driver market
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The F1 summer break kicks off after this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, with a mandatory two-week shutdown of factory activities commencing the week after.
By the time the season resumes, at Zandvoort in late August, more pieces of the F1 driver market puzzle could become known, particularly in the bottom half of the field.
At Aston Martin, Fernando Alonso’s future isn’t yet certain, with the two-time F1 World Champion making it clear that his future is contingent on deciding whether or not he believes Formula 1 still gives him sufficient career satisfaction and driving challenge.
“My decision for next year is more about the rules,” he said, after the Belgian Grand Prix.
“You know, driving these cars in places like Spa today or Silverstone last race is not what I’m dreaming of for my future. So we’ll see.”
To that end, ongoing speculation that Alonso could move to Alpine has petered out: sources have indicated that discussions regarding this possibility have “gone quiet” and, even if Flavio Briatore is eager and Gucci is willing to pay his rumoured $20 million salary, a move to another team has been ruled out.
Indeed, the Spaniard stated this in the press conference on Thursday, when the drivers attending were asked about their futures; Alonso explained that he “has a contract” and is “not moving”.
But, with Alonso’s initial contract with Aston Martin understood to encompass different areas of the business, including a post-driving career ambassadorship posting, this ongoing contract does not necessarily mean that he will be behind the wheel of the AMR27.
If Alonso does decide that he no longer wants to be on the grid, this opens up a highly-coveted cockpit in an Adrian Newey-penned car.
The leading candidates for this potential opening are believed to be Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez, both of whom are weighing up their options away from their current teams.
Speculation that continues to suggest a door is open for a potential swap between Sainz and Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg is now being firmly rejected as a possibility, with the German manufacturer remaining steadfast with its current driver line-up.
But Sainz is closing in on the point where his 2027 plans will become apparent and, on Thursday, he reaffirmed that he would sit down with his management team to weigh up his options.
“I cannot give you a date, but I imagine, as I always said, that I was going to wait until the summer to sit down with my team and think about this, and discuss with them, with James [Vowles] and everyone, the future of the team and my future in it,” he said.
“I expect that during the summer we will start to take a decision and start to see a bit more of the situation, but the exact timing, I don’t know.”
With Perez eager to race further forward on the grid than his current Cadillac seat, the solid, if unspectacular, start to Formula 1 for the American team may not be enough to convince him to remain, but his options, like Sainz’s, appear contingent on what Alonso does.
Should Alonso leave his seat, Sainz is claimed by some sources to be the most likely successor for him at Aston Martin, opening up a Williams seat – both Perez and current Alpine driver Franco Colapinto are understood to be options for this, and potentially both seats, if Williams and Alex Albon don’t continue together.
The Argentine, who is understood to be circa 18 months into a five-year Alpine contract, said on Thursday that he isn’t thinking about his future just yet.
“No idea. I’m just focused on driving and I’m happy this year,” he said.
“I feel like I’m doing a good job. I’m just focused on these few races and doing my best with the team, trying to improve the car. It’s our main focus.
“I think you guys definitely know more than us, with all the rumours. I don’t even know a quarter of what you guys know, so you shouldn’t ask us.”
Should Alonso stay, it’s expected the status quo will remain the same.
Further up the grid, Max Verstappen’s escape clause conditions are expected to be triggered after this weekend’s race in Budapest, with the Dutch driver unable to be in the top two of the Drivers’ Championship.
This would make him, effectively, a free agent for 2027, despite holding a contract with Red Bull until the end of 2028.
Of the leading teams, McLaren is understood to still be Verstappen’s main option away from Red Bull, and sources have suggested that Verstappen and McLaren have worked out the broad terms of a potential contract – including a circa 10 percent raise in his baseline salary from his current Red Bull deal.
However, despite the advanced nature of the discussions, this deal is not finalised, with the four-time F1 World Champion having the possibility in his pocket as he picks his way through what has been a tumultuous time with Red Bull.
After the emotions of Silverstone, the Dutch driver appeared warmer on his Red Bull prospects when he spoke to the media on Thursday, welcoming the “upward trend” he’s seen from his team in recent races.
“I am feeling good from my side. What I’m saying that there is nothing to say is because there’s nothing going on,” he said.
“So for me, I’m just focused on trying to get the the most out of the car. And like what I was explaining before, that’s already complicated enough to deal with. And yeah, that’s what I’m just doing.
“I mean, this team is like a second family to me, you know? And yeah, I just try to to understand our car a bit better, and of course get back to winning ways.
“But I mean, we’ve been close one weekend. I hope a little bit more often than just one weekend. But it’s definitely on an upward trend, so that’s good to see.”
As for the Red Bull line-up in general, Nikola Tsolov’s name has been linked with a promotion to a Racing Bulls seat, with Red Bull in a privileged position of having a strong junior talent but no seat to place him in.
But it’s understood that there are currently no conversations yet being held regarding the driver line-up for the Faenza-based squad, and, when asked about when he’d like to get clarity, Liam Lawson said the summer break will likely be the starting point for these discussions.
“I actually have no idea,” he said regarding his 2027 prospects, when asked by PlanetF1.com.
“So I think that stuff normally, the conversation normally is around summer break. So yeah, I’m sure there’ll be discussions around that.”
As for Haas, team boss Ayao Komatsu spoke on Thursday about the difficulties he’s facing in evaluating decisions on his driver line-up, with Esteban Ocon’s seat under scrutiny as top prospects such as Rafael Camara and Leonardo Fornaroli have been linked with the cockpit.
“I wish something makes my decision easier!” he laughed, after revealing how the variables introduced by the inconsistent power unit regulations have clouded the picture of a driver’s ability.
What the next few weeks is likely to do is clear up some of the puzzle pieces – the most likely being Alonso’s seat and the permutations if he does leave the grid.
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Originally published by Planet F1 —
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