Max Verstappen climbed onto the Hungaroring podium on Sunday. The bigger question hanging over him has nothing to do with the flags on the top step.
Verstappen’s Red Bull deal runs to the end of 2028, but the fine print includes a performance-based release path that opens at the summer break. Reporting through July placed the trigger somewhere between a top-two and top-three championship position at the shutdown.
His second place in Hungary lifted him to sixth in the standings, one point ahead of Oscar Piastri. Whichever version of the clause is correct, the door is open.
Toto Wolff appeared to close one of the obvious destinations this weekend. Mercedes will keep George Russell and Kimi Antonelli for 2027, the team principal confirmed.
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“Yeah, we don’t want to change things,” Wolff said, adding that he was “very happy with the two of them”.
Piastri’s disputed clause
Piastri’s situation is murkier. Auto Action reported a condition that would allow the Australian to leave McLaren if he finishes outside the top five at the summer break.
He is currently seventh, one behind Verstappen after a gearbox failure ended his Hungarian Grand Prix.
The outlet cautioned that its reporting has not been confirmed by Piastri, his manager Mark Webber or McLaren, “and should be treated with caution.”
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Teammate Lando Norris, signed through 2027, took his first win of the season on Sunday.
Alonso: “I have a contract”
Fernando Alonso addressed his future in the Hungaroring paddock on Thursday.
“I have a contract, I’m not going to change [teams],” the two-time champion told reporters.
Whether he drives is a different question. Alonso, who turns 45 this month, has been open that a final call comes after the shutdown.
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“Sometime in the summer, I need to make a decision,” he told Sky Sports in May. The garage next to him is held by Lance Stroll, also out of contract at the end of 2026.
Sainz waiting on Williams upgrades
Carlos Sainz sits in a similar holding pattern. The Spaniard has told Williams his preference is to stay:
“I think the team by now knows what my intentions and my priorities are, which would be to continue in this team, in this project.” Audi is the alternative that will not go away, though Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto both have deals running past 2026.
Eleven seats on the market
Per The Race’s contract tracker, 11 drivers reach the end of their deals on 31 December 2026: Antonelli, Isack Hadjar, Sainz, Liam Lawson, Arvid Lindblad, Alonso, Stroll, Oliver Bearman, Esteban Ocon, Franco Colapinto and Alex Albon, whose contract carries option language.
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Dutch outlet GPToday, which mapped the market at the weekend, puts the total number of drivers without a solid 2027 arrangement at 17 once trigger clauses and option years are included.
The chain runs both ways.
If Verstappen activates his clause and McLaren is his only realistic seat, Piastri’s disputed clause becomes the pressure point that opens Woking. If Piastri stays put, Verstappen has nowhere obvious to go. If Alonso stops driving, Aston Martin gains one of the summer’s most sought-after cockpits.
F1 returns at Zandvoort on 21 August. Most of the calls will already be made.
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