F1 2027 grid: The 12 seats still open as Max Verstappen finally signs mega deal

F1 2027 grid: The 12 seats still open as Max Verstappen finally signs mega deal

There are still a ton of seats available for 2027

Graham Shaw Consultant Editor

Digital sports specialist running global brands for 30 years

Thursday 20 August 2026 14:50 Updated: 15:00

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Finally it is official - Max Verstappen WILL be a Red Bull driver in 2027 but there are still a ton of seats open as the grid begins to take shape.

Instead of joining Mercedes or McLaren, the 28-year-old Verstappen ended all the silly season speculation and rumours by signing an extension with Red Bull through to 2030.

Even after that, we still have only 10 of the 22 seats currently filled, following the decision of Alex Albon earlier this week to sign a new deal with Williams, swiftly followed by team-mate Carlos Sainz.

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2027 F1 Grid: The seats that are 'confirmed', and those that are open

Given the state of flux in F1's driver market, it is much easier to talk about which seats are filled rather than the majority which are still open for 2027. There are only nine who '100 percent' have a confirmed seat for next season.

McLaren are set per F1 with reigning world champion Lando Norris alongside Australian Oscar Piastri, though even that would change should the team in papaya eventually land Verstappen. All contracts remember can be broken/torn up.

Ferrari are also currently set for 2027 with Charles Leclerc having recently signed a long-term contract extension (believed to be through 2030) while seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton has a multi-year contract.

Rookie team Cadillac is the other team with two drivers confirmed for 2027 with Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez under contract. Remember again that everything is subject to change with Bottas under pressure and Perez linked with Williams.

That leaves just four more seats which are 100percent filled as it stands - and they are Frenchman Pierre Gasly at Alpine, Albon and Sainz at Williams and of course Verstappen.

There are other drivers (several) who will be in the familiar position for many F1 stars of waiting on a team to activate options for 2027. Often contracts will have a guaranteed year plus a team option for a second.

On Thursday August 20, 2026, the current 2027 grid with confirmed drivers looks like this:

2027 F1 driver market

12 seats open

Drivers shown as Confirmed have been included in F1's official 2027 grid update. All remaining seats are currently listed as TBC.

McLaren

Lando Norris Confirmed

Oscar Piastri Confirmed

Mercedes

TBC

Red Bull

Max Verstappen Confirmed

TBC

Ferrari

Charles Leclerc Confirmed

Lewis Hamilton Confirmed

Williams

Alex AlbonConfirmed

Carlos SainzConfirmed

Racing Bulls

TBC

Aston Martin

TBC

Haas

TBC

Audi

TBC

Alpine

Pierre Gasly Confirmed

TBC

Cadillac

Sergio Perez Confirmed

Valtteri Bottas Confirmed

Fernando Alonso the biggest domino still to fall

The other big domino still to fall, now that Verstappen's future is confirmed, is two-time world champion Fernando Alonso.

The Spaniard is currently pondering his future at Aston Martin, with retirement an option at the age of 45. He has also been linked with a Flavio Briatore reunion at Alpine.

Fernando Alonso is pondering his future at Aston Martin.

The sport returns from its summer break at Zandvoort this weekend as the final Dutch Grand Prix (for now) takes centre stage. It would be no surprise for some announcements to be made in the paddock as things become a little clearer.

Written by

Graham Shaw - Consultant Editor

Digital sports leader with 30 years of senior level experience running global brands. Built sportinglife.com to be a behemoth in the UK as well as being in charge of the Planet Sport network of sites including planetf1.com, football365.com, teamtalk.com and planetrugby.com. Then grew goal.com to be the world's biggest soccer website in 18 languages and 37 territories. Was GM of Portals for Perform Group (now DAZN) with overall responsibility for sportingnews.com, spox.de and voetbalzone.nl.

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F1 Max Verstappen