Verstappen-Piastri swap?
The off-track incident involving Max Verstappen in the final laps of the British Grand Prix has sparked a driver market speculation that could materialize for 2027: the Red Bull Dutchman, who was furious with his team after the event, could indeed make use of a release clause in his contract, which expires in 2028. The same could be done by Oscar Piastri at McLaren, with this dissatisfaction among drivers in their respective teams potentially leading to a real swap.
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However, following the denial by Piastri’s manager, former driver Mark Webber, an insider report came from Sky UK about another Red Bull interest. For the post-Verstappen era, the Milton Keynes team is seriously considering Oliver Bearman, a 21-year-old Briton who has been repeatedly linked to Ferrari, where he also grew up in the Prancing Horse Academy.
Everything is still to be decided at Red Bull, as well as at McLaren, but the possible arrival of the current Haas driver was endorsed by Ralf Schumacher. Michael’s brother, speaking to Sky Deutschland, indicated he would bet on the young talent: “If it were possible to have him, my first choice would probably be Oliver Bearman, if it weren’t for the experience factor – he explained – if I were worried and couldn’t rely on Hadjar, because you have more information when you look at the data, which I can’t evaluate from the outside, I would say you can trust him.”
Bearman, or?
Another driver apparently set to leave his team in 2026 is Carlos Sainz, eager to return to a top team after his stint at Williams. However, despite the Spaniard’s time at Ferrari, Schumacher insists on Bearman: “Then there’s obviously Carlos Sainz, who is a good driver – he continued – the only problem so far is that he still has to prove his worth. I say this upfront, before other comments come, just as I had to prove in my time that you can really compete for the World Championship. Carlos has done a great job, and that’s why I prefer to bet on Bearman, who I believe has great potential for the future, he is incredibly clear-headed, incredibly likeable and, in my opinion, deserves an opportunity with a good car. I really can’t understand why Ferrari should let him go – beyond my understanding of how that could happen – because even if Hamilton stayed for another year, you could very well think that at some point his career will end. Why would they ever let such a gem slip away?“.
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