The Cadillac cubes have fallen, but the driver carousel of Formula 1 is still rotating. Six places are still open for 2026, especially those who get Red Bull’s career-killer cockpit alongside Max Verstappen. Nothing is still official for two other teams. Maybe Mick Schumacher still has another chance?
Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez have brought their sheep dry. The oldies start in the 2026 Formula 1 season for newcomers Cadillac, should push the Americans’ F1 adventure with all their routine. Mick Schumacher, who also had hopes for a Cadillac engagement, went away again.
So two coveted cockpits are off the market, but the Silly Season is far from over. Three race stables have still not made their driver duos for next year, including two heavyweights with Red Bull and Mercedes.
The view of the Red Bull cosmos around Formula 1 king Max Verstappen is particularly exciting. Its stable colleague Yuki Tsunoda has been hopelessly shaking up to the Dutchman from the Racing Bulls: at least as hopelessly as Liam Lawson, which was degraded after only two Grands Prix, and even more hopelessly than the Checo Perez, which was shot in the previous year.
The most exciting question of the Silly Season end phase is therefore: Who takes over the career-killer cockpit next to Verstappen? The list of those who have burned the gas foot next to the dominator is long: Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon (now established pilots again), in parts of Perez, most recently the Lawson and Tsunoda, which was traded as top talent.
The fact that the latter also drives for Red Bull in 2026 is unlikely for several reasons. On the one hand, there is a view of the bare numbers: Tsunoda drives away for miles, collected nine points for the bulls to date. In Zandvoort, the Japanese recently drove into the points as ninth, but benefited from several failures.
RTL expert Danner: “Tsunoda flies 100 % – is Palou coming?
The bottom line is that Tsunoda brings far too little and the 26-year-old can no longer count on the support of Honda. At the beginning of the new engine regulations 2026 Aston Martin, his compatriots equip exclusively with engines. Red Bull will build his engines in cooperation with Ford itself in the future.
“Tsunoda flies 100 %,” says RTL expert Christian Danner in an interview with sport.de firmly. Who inherits the Rohrspatz from the Far East? “The wildest rumors are currently about Alex Palou, who is driving in the United States in the Indycar series,” said the former Formula 1 pilot. The Spaniard has already won the US series three times and is considered the interrelation of the IndyCar series.
Palou and his management even denied reports about a red bull engagement. It is questionable whether the 28-year-old would give up his cockpit at Chip Ganassi and life as a motorsport star in America. On the other hand, the Formula 1 Palous childhood dream is.
If it goes to Danner, Red Bull Palou “just crouch in because it is just great”. An F1 entry of the Indy champion “would be the most” because Palou “is really good”, emphasized the RTL expert, who used to drive himself in the US series. “Whether he’s good enough for Formula 1? That would be nice to find it out.”
Isack Hadjar is Red Bull’s logical choice
Does Red Bull want a renowned “rookie” next to Platzhirsch Verstappen? It is more likely that Bullen eminence Helmut Marko pulls a man up from the young program. Isack Hadjar would be the logical choice. The Frenchman just got his first podium in the Netherlands GP and a lot of tailwind.
Marko praised the young bull strikingly after the Zandvoort race: “really great, Hadjar, who drove out of a lot of pressure under a lot of pressure and to drive on the podium during these years is promising,” said the Austrian. Hadjar also puts off setbacks and is always positive. Does this predestine him for the hard seat next to Verstappen?
“Hadjar wants that?”, Not only Danner asks with a view to the list of the failed. The 20-year-old himself is covered. In Zandvoort, when asked about his Red Bull future, he only treated himself to a joke: “I don’t like Max.” But: Nobody has yet rejected the Red Bull transportation-Hadjar will not say “No” even if Marko and team boss Laurent Mekies order the promotion to the senior team.
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From the second cockpit at Red Bull, there are places at the Racing Bulls, where Hadjar and Lawson’s contracts expire at the end of the year. If an “external” à la Palou actually came to the RB cosmos, Hadjar would attach a second year to the B team, which is clear. If he rises, the 18-year-old Arvid Lindbald (currently seventh of the Formula 2 championship) is another youngster from Marko’s squad smithy to give fabric for the junior team.
The much scolded Lawson should get another year of probation – provided that it performs until the end of the season. After all, the New Zealander has caught up in the Racing Bulls after his Knüppel-hard red Bull degradation, and the 23-year-old has been running four times since Monaco.
A quick decision by the Red Bull boss is not to be expected. “We will decide on our cockpits at the end of the season,” said Marko sport.de-Demand. Means: The three open places are awarded in the package. Until then, all candidates are under observation.
Mercedes pairing set
The driver question at Mercedes should be faster. George Russell and Kimi Antonelli still have no contracts for 2026. It is a matter of form that both will also sit in the silver arrow next. Toto Wolff praised his number 1 man Russell so often and assured that the Brit, of course, continues in silver that the prayer mill has become independent.
Antonelli is counted after his steep goat from Zandvoort and does his first critical phase in Formula 1. Wolff will not drop his pupil, the 18-year-old Italian has too much potential (which he has already indicated and played out). In addition, Mercedes also has no attractive change option: the big thing with Max Verstappen will be possible at the earliest in 2027. Until then, the duo Russell/Antonelli Safe is.
What does Briatore conjure up the hat for alpine?
Stays alpine. The once so proud French Renault racing team has not yet lashed its pairing. It is certain that veteran Piere Gasly also drives for alpine in 2026-then with Mercedes engines in the rear-more promising. The 29-year-old is a reliable size that regularly takes the coals out of the fire for the team.
It gets problematic besides Gasly. Rookie Jack Doohan had to vacate his place for Franco Colapinto after just six Grands Prix. However, the Argentinian did not convince at all in nine appearances, lags behind Gasly, did not meet a World Cup point. If Colapinto does not quickly change the go, alpine boss Flavio Briatore should show him the door. Formula 1 is and remains a performance society.
It is unlikely that Doohan can get back on again, possibly Briatore conjures up a candidate from the hat that nobody has on the piece – or a sorted tsunoda? At Alpine, reserve driver Paul Aron is also lurking for one chance. The Este convinced in 2024 with third place in Formula 2 and a win.
And Mick Schumacher? The 26-year-old continues to dream of Formula 1. The fact that a door opens at Alpine is actually excluded, although Schumacher is currently still driving for the French in the long-distance series WEC. According to “Auto Motor und Sport”, he doesn’t matter in Briatore’s considerations.