F1 2027 Grid: The 7 seats still open with Alonso future now clearer as signing confirmed

We now have only 7 open F1 driver seats remaining for 2027 after the latest update on next year's grid.

On Thursday morning Alpine announced that Argentine star Franco Colapinto will again drive for them as well next season, alongside Pierre Gasly.

The latest silly season news also makes the future of Aston Martin star Fernando star much clearer - he had been linked with a potential Flavio Briatore reunion at Alpine in recent weeks.

Now though it looks like Alonso's decision comes down to either sign a new deal to drive again for Aston Martin in 2027, or retire from the sport.

The two-time world champion turned 45 years of age on July 29 and has been pondering this massive decision as his team fight to recover from a nightmare start to 2026.

Recent Adrian Newey upgrades to the AMR26 car have hinted at really positive signs for the future, but it's believed Alonso wants evidence that their power unit supplier Honda can also really come to the party in 2027.

The Japanese giant delivered an engine at the start of the season which produced vibrations so bad that it risked permanent nerve damage to both Alonso and team-mate Lance Stroll.

Honda delivered its first upgrade at the Dutch Grand Prix last weekend and while it delivered more power that also came with driveability issues.

Alonso is expected to confirm his decision soon, with the smart money on him continuing for at least one more season.

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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 15 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, with Norris reportedly in talks about a new deal worth $70million per season.

Mercedes are also set for 2027 with championship leader Kimi Antonelli and British star George Russell both returning for another season.

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. The 41-year-old British star is also expected to sign a new extension before the Italian Grand Prix at Monza next weekend (September 4-6).

Rookie team Cadillac also have 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.

Alpine now have Pierre Gasly and Colapinto definitely returning for 2027, and Audi are in the same boat with Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto.

Williams are also set after handing out a huge 30million Euro per season extension to Carlos Sainz, and retaining Alex Albon.

That of course just leaves the biggest fish of all - Max Verstappen remaining at Red Bull after signing an extension through 2020 which reportedly includes a base salary of $107million per season.

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 27, 2026, the current 2027 grid with confirmed drivers looks like this:

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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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