Norris to stay at McLaren: 2027 starting grid has gaps – which drivers are on edge?

When Max Verstappen extended his contract with Red Bull Racing early, until the end of 2030, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff remarked dryly: “That spells the end of the silly season.” That phase of the season, in other words, during which there is (sometimes quite wild) speculation about which driver might switch teams.

The next key move on the F1 chessboard: Lando Norris has also extended his contract early; just as Verstappen is staying at RBR, the Briton is staying at McLaren, also until the end of 2030.

Here’s a brief overview of what’s happening for the 2027 F1 season and beyond.

Mercedes – Kimi Antonelli and George Russell both have multi-year contracts extending beyond 2027, though the exact duration is unknown.

Ferrari – Charles Leclerc signed a two-year extension in June, taking his contract through to the end of 2028. Lewis Hamilton will drive at least until the end of 2027, with an option for the Briton to extend into 2028.

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McLaren – The team’s CEO, Zak Brown, had already stated weeks ago that he saw no reason to change the Norris/Piastri driver line-up. Norris has signed until at least 2030, with mutual options beyond that. Oscar Piastri is tied to the historic racing team until the end of 2028.

Red Bull Racing – Max Verstappen has secured an early contract extension with Red Bull Racing. And team principal Laurent Mekies hinted as early as the Hungaroring who his team-mate will be in 2027: Parisian Isack Hadjar.

Racing Bulls – It is standard practice at Red Bull to tie drivers to the team via multi-year contracts; the duration of these contracts is generally not disclosed. Therefore: should RBR so wish, Arvid Lindblad and Liam Lawson will also be driving for the Bulls in 2027. However, the second Red Bull team continues to face a ‘luxury problem’. In Formula 2, Bulgarian driver Nikola Tsolov is pushing for promotion to the top flight with strong performances.

Alpine – Pierre Gasly is under contract until the end of 2028. Franco Colapinto has been awarded a new one-year contract, running until the end of 2027.

Haas – The contracts with Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman are both due to expire. It looks as though Ocon will be leaving, whilst Ferrari intends to continue developing the young Bearman at Haas. A possible successor to Ocon: another Ferrari junior, Formula 2 driver Rafael Camara from Brazil. However, it is also conceivable that McLaren reserve driver Leonardo Fornaroli could join Haas. An outsider is Haas reserve driver Jack Doohan.

Audi – Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto are on contract until at least 2027.

Williams – Team principal James Vowles stated during the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort that Thai-British driver Alex Albon has a one-year contract (i.e. until the end of 2027), whilst Carlos Sainz has signed for three years (i.e. until the end of 2029).

Aston Martin – Before the summer break, Fernando Alonso stated that he saw his future with the ‘Green’ team and that he had a multi-year contract with the Silverstone-based outfit. “I’ll still be here in 2027.” However, that does not necessarily mean he will be racing in Grands Prix. Alonso wants to see progress and has doubts about continuing, as he finds the current generation of racing cars rather uninspiring. Aston Martin’s problem: there is no driver of anywhere near Alonso’s calibre available. In 2024, it was announced that Lance Stroll had been signed “for several years”.

Cadillac – The two Grand Prix veterans, Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas, have both signed multi-year contracts, meaning they will drive for the US team until the end of 2027.