Earlier this in 2026, it looked like we were about to experience the most eventful driver market in the last few years. 15 of the grid’s 22 drivers were potentially out of contract at the end of the season – and that partly came down to the uniqueness of 2026. Brand new regulations meant that every driver wanted to wait and see what was going on – who was competitive, who was slow and if the new rules were actually enjoyable. Verstappen, for example, had a question mark with for months.

Fast-forward to now, though, and we’ve now got a much better picture of who is where in 2027. Here’s very driver out of contract in 2026.

F1 drivers out of contract at the end of 2026

Fernando Alonso

Unresolved but there’s a good chance he’ll stay. At 45, Fernando said his Aston Martin deal runs beyond his own racing career. It’s all down to the car – if the Newey rebuild starts delivering what the paddock expects, Alonso stays and enjoys it. If it doesn’t, retirement is a real possibility.

Kimi Antonelli

Hasn’t signed anything yet, but Mercedes isn’t going to let the breakout driver and likely champion of 2026 go anywhere. This year he has been the class of the field, and it’s made Toto Wolff’s early faith in him look like a masterstroke.

Oliver Bearman

Ollie could almost certainly stay at Haas – he’s comprehensively outperformed Ocon – but this one is about where he actually wants to be. Bearman is a Ferrari junior, but with the senior seats at the main team occupied for the foreseeable future, another year at Haas is the obvious outcome. Still, if another top team comes knocking, Bearman could be off.

Gabriel Bortoleto

Bortoleto hasn’t signed anything on paper, but he’s had another impressive year – often running at the same pace as his more experienced team-mate Hülkenberg. The Brazilian was always the long-term bet Audi built its project around rather than a stopgap – this year shows he’s still on track.

Isack Hadjar

Most would say Hadjar had done enough to make keeping his Red Bull seat a formality: he was only tenths behind Verstappen, and seemed to be really improving as this year went on. However, a recent injury cost him races and now means what should’ve been straightforward could go either way.

Nico Hülkenberg

Hülkenberg came to Audi to steady its all-new project, and that job isn’t finished yet. He’s looked quick and dependable this year too, and acted as a good yardstick to Bortoleto. There’s no reason for Audi not to retain him.

Liam Lawson

Lawson is expected back at Racing Bulls next year, although we’ve not heard anything official yet. He’s put in a decent performance standing in for Hadjar over the last few races, but nothing that should promote him to the top team.

Arvid Lindblad

The new British rookie has pretty much matched Lawson’s pace since the start of the year, which is exactly what Red Bull wanted to see from its latest junior graduate. With that in mind, he looks safe at Racing Bulls as a result even without full confirmation on paper.

Esteban Ocon

The Frenchman has been comprehensively outperformed by Bearman this year, which leaves his future at the team looking extremely shaky. Expect him to be elsewhere in 2027.

Lance Stroll

As you’d expect, Stroll is unaffected by any of the usual pressures you’d seen in the driver market. With that in mind he’s not signed yet, but there’s nothing we expect to stop him continuing.