The timing is unusual. Formula 1 teams normally finish their driver market in the final weeks of a season, and this year the market has almost beaten the championship to the finish line. Nineteen drivers are already confirmed for 2027, leaving only three cockpits to fill before the grid is complete.

Antonelli arrives in Texas 102 points clear of Mercedes team-mate George Russell and 111 ahead of Lewis Hamilton in third. To wrap the title up on Sunday he needs to win the race, with Russell finishing outside the top eight and Hamilton outside the top four. Five rounds would then still remain on the calendar.

Lawson, Lindblad, Tsolov: three fighting for two seats

Both Racing Bulls seats are the headline vacancy. Liam Lawson has been the team’s main points scorer in 2026, F2 driver Arvid Lindblad is pushing for a promotion, and Bulgarian prospect Nikola Tsolov is also in the mix inside Red Bull’s junior programme.

Team principal Alan Permane said last week that the choice would not be rushed.

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“It’s going to be in the coming weeks. We’re not in a rush,” Permane told reporters, as relayed by RacingNews365.

“Everyone knows we’ve got two fantastic drivers, we’ve got a fantastic driver in F2 at the moment. Three doesn’t fit into two, of course.”

The Haas vacancy is the quieter one. The American team has already signed Ferrari-backed prospect Rafael Camara on a multi-year deal, and holds a team option on Oliver Bearman’s current contract. Haas principal Ayao Komatsu has publicly said the team wants to keep Bearman, with an extension expected in the coming weeks.

Hamilton, Verstappen and Russell all signed through 2027

The three biggest names on the grid are not part of this winter’s drama. Hamilton has repeatedly confirmed he has a Ferrari contract in place for at least 2027, with reports of a unilateral option that could stretch his stay to 2028.

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Max Verstappen ended months of speculation in August, when Red Bull announced the four-time world champion had extended through to the end of 2030 ahead of his home race at Zandvoort. He will partner Isack Hadjar, promoted from Racing Bulls.

Russell’s position was less certain earlier in the year, when Mercedes was openly linked with Verstappen. That cooled when Toto Wolff publicly reaffirmed the current pairing in June.

“We don’t want to change things, and we’ve said that also to George. I think it’s a line-up that is good for us. I’m very happy with the two of them,” Wolff told Crash.net.

McLaren, Williams, Aston Martin, Alpine, Audi and new entrant Cadillac are also locked in across both seats, giving the market an unusual stability. For teams whose line-ups are set, the next weeks are about the 2027 car. For Lawson, Lindblad, Tsolov and Bearman, they are about whether they will be driving at all.

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Lights out at the Circuit of the Americas is at 3pm local time on Sunday, 25 October.

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