Sabbatical year for Max?
What will the F1 2027 starting grid look like? According to The-Race.com there won’t be major news, but one absence is bound to make noise. We are obviously talking about Max Verstappen, who will be free to leave the contract that binds him to Red Bull because, barring sensational upsets, he will not be in first or second position in the Drivers’ World Championship when the season reaches the summer.
The Dutchman is unlikely to find space in a top team because all the seats at Mercedes, Ferrari, and McLaren are bound by long-term contracts, and therefore for Verstappen the hypothesis of a ‘sabbatical’ year to dedicate to endurance racing would be the most likely.
In addition to Verstappen, in the British publication’s predictions, the other driver currently on the grid who will not be included in the 22 drivers entered for the 2027 World Championship is Franco Colapinto, obviously for different reasons, namely poor performance. Without Verstappen and Colapinto, two spots open up, but one would be occupied by an old acquaintance.
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The ‘musical chairs’ hypothesized by The-Race envisages Alexander Albon moving to Alpine and Esteban Ocon to Williams, with Haas replacing the Frenchman with Yuki Tsunoda, a move in favor of partner Toyota. Without Verstappen, Red Bull, while waiting to try to sign a top driver for 2028, would turn to its youth academy with Arvid Lindblad promoted to Red Bull and Nikola Tsolov alongside Liam Lawson at Racing Bulls.
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