Why we should get ready for a dramatic F1 silly season

If we’re all good, the summer-contract version of Santa Claus might bring a genuine, bona fide ‘silly season’ this year. There’s a good handful of Formula 1 drivers who will reach the conclusion of their deals by the end of this season, a prompt for them and their teams to play the seemingly biennial game of stick-or-twist. 

This might have been by design: the drivers wanted to see who’d turn up in 2026 with the best machinery, and then proceed to angle for the same seats on the grid. It’s probably safe to assume that the teams equipped with Mercedes power have struggled to open their front doors, what with the driver CVs tucked between takeaway leaflets and 20% off your next Domino’s order coupons on the welcome mat. 

Clarity regarding each driver’s contract situation is difficult to achieve, given that modern-day teams like to announce their drivers on “multi-year” deals, festooned with performance clauses and options that offer both driver and team certain levers to pull. Disappointed with a driver? Subsection 41.3.2 states that if they fail to score more than 20 points or forget to bring a traybake into the office on the HR director’s birthday, they can be cut loose and replaced with someone more competitive, or more in tune with workplace-based anniversaries. It’s a bit of a quagmire of legalese at the best of times.

You might argue that the silly season has already started. Since Max Verstappen’s view of F1 continues to vacillate depending on the whims of team politics, there’s a non-zero chance that he might walk at the end of 2026. Red Bull is said to have its eye on peeling Oscar Piastri out of the McLaren line-up should Verstappen depart, although the Australian denies that any talks have taken place. 

It’s said that contracts are only ever worth the paper they’re written on, assuming that the stapled-together leaves of A4 are also worth whatever pay-off clause is included in the smallprint. Pierre Gasly is known to be tied to Alpine until the end of 2028, Lewis Hamilton recently stated that he’s in contract for next year at Ferrari, and Charles Leclerc has just signed a new extension to his deal. Verstappen’s deal lasts to the end of 2028, albeit with break clauses, and Piastri and Lando Norris have the multi-year levers tied into their McLaren deals. 

It’s fair game everywhere else, even at 2026 runaway pacesetter Mercedes. Toto Wolff likes to keep his drivers on their toes with one-year deals, although it would be wholly surprising if either George Russell or Kimi Antonelli were to go elsewhere… particularly since Mercedes manages their affairs. Negotiating with yourself does tend to make life a little bit easier, after all. 

Alonso says he will decide his future this summer. Can Aston Martin make the progress needed for him to stay?

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images

Carlos Sainz is understood to be on a 2+2 deal with Williams, and the Grove squad will be keen to move as much heaven-and-earth to keep him as it did to land him in the first place. Will Audi and Haas persist with continuity, and take their driver pairings into a third season? Has Franco Colapinto’s recent form convinced Alpine to pursue a second full season with the talkative Argentinian? 

And then there’s the elephant in the room: Fernando Alonso’s contract with Aston Martin. The two-time champion says that he will decide his future in the summer, although he has made noises about wanting to only quit F1 when he ‘feels slow’, believing that he is still at his best.

The birth of his first child might change that, and he might decide in the moment that he has less patience for propping up the order. It likely depends on Aston Martin demonstrating tangible progress.

The current drivers might look at their contracts, look at Aston Martin, and think, “You know what, I’m all right”

Were Alonso to leave, who would replace him? The current drivers might look at their contracts, look at Aston Martin, and think, “You know what, I’m all right”, but those who fell the wrong side of the previous contract cycles might relish the opportunity to at least drive an F1 car. Wonder whether a Mr Y Tsunoda has registered his potential interest…

It could look outside of F1, of course. Reserve driver Jak Crawford is already on the books, and development product Mari Boya is racing in F2 – although it’s been a bit of a difficult start to the year for the son of a supermarket owner. But perhaps the lure of Adrian Newey and a bit of cash could persuade one of the current regulars to consider the move.

At the moment, silly season looks to be at the behest of Verstappen’s decisions – or at least, the decisions of those opposed to changing the power unit bias for 2027. Were he to leave, it would blow the driver market wide open; who would McLaren get if Piastri did indeed switch teams? There are surely some surprises to be had.

This article is one of many in the monthly Autosport magazine. For more premium content, take a look at the July 2026 issue and subscribe today. 

Could Piastri have his head turned by an offer from Red Bull?

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