F1 2027 Grid with seven seats still open and one massive question mark

The 2027 F1 grid is now shaping up after the silly season madness, but we do have seven seats still remaining and one massive question mark.

Some of the biggest chips have already fallen this summer, none bigger than four-time world champion Max Verstappen signing a new contract extension with Red Bull through to 2030.

Verstappen already was contracted to Red Bull through 2028, but had an exit clause which would have allowed him to move to another team for 2027. He did hold talks with McLaren but in the end decided that the grass is not greener.

We now also know that Mercedes, dominating F1 so far in 2026, will retain world champion elect Kimi Antonelli and British star George Russell for 2027. No great surprise there.

Verstappen staying put also means there will be no change at McLaren - world champion Lando Norris had already appeared very secure but Oscar Piastri was mentioned strongly in a potential swap deal to Red Bull in exchange for Verstappen.

Ferrari will also stay as is for 2027 with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc continuing at Maranello. Leclerc now has a long-term extension in his back pocket while we wait to find out if Hamilton will extend as well.

Of the remaining seven open seats, the biggest question of all is undoubtedly whether two-time world champion Fernando Alonso will continue in the sport. Aston Martin want to retain him, now his only decision is whether retirement at the age of 45 is a better option.

We still await official confirmation for 2027 about Alonso's Aston Martin team-mate Lance Stroll, while Red Bull have still to publicly decide on a second driver behind Verstappen. Isack Hadjar is the incumbent and the strong favourite, but has just missed three races with a wrist injury.

Racing Bulls currently have both seats open, though it appears likely both New Zealander Liam Lawson and promising young Brit Arvid Lindblad will return. There had been strong speculation that Bulgarian prodigy Nikola Tsolov might get a seat for 2027.

The other two open seats are at Haas, and one of them is highly likely to go to the man in possession, young British star Ollie Bearman.

The other Haas seat is ver much up in the air, with a number of hopefuls fighting to take over from Esteban Ocon. They include Ferrari prodigy Rafael Camara and F2 champion Leonardo Fornaroli. Right now, reports from Italy suggest Camara is very much the favourite to clinch that coveted seat.

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

There are only 15 drivers who '100 percent' have a confirmed seat for next season at the time of writing on September 22, 2026, with seven seats still open:

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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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