The announcement that Max Verstappen has signed a new contract with Red Bull Racing and is expected to stay with the team until 2030 is bad news for a number of other drivers. Carlos Sainz was not announced for 2027 as a Williams driver when the news was released that his teammate, Alex Albon, had committed for another season.
Sainz Locked In as Domino Effect Collapses
Clearly, the Spaniard was hoping something would open up elsewhere. Yet with Verstappen staying put, the expected domino effect of him leaving Red Bull is now impossible. The Sainz contingent finally announced he would remain with Williams for next season once they knew the Verstappen deal was almost complete.
Audi boss Mattia Binotto has stated he is happy with his current driver line-up, which closed another opportunity for Sainz, who will become one of the highest-paid F1 drivers with a new deal at Williams reported to be in the €25–30 million region.
Stability Across Top Teams
Both Ferrari drivers are tied into long-term contracts, and it appears unlikely that McLaren will ditch the currently underperforming Oscar Piastri. Mercedes too are likely to retain the line-up of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, although the reaction of the British driver to his younger teammate potentially becoming world champion may be interesting.
Trouble at Haas and Grid Rumours
There remains some uncertainty surrounding Esteban Ocon, who is being beaten week in, week out by his junior teammate Ollie Bearman. The French driver, who soured his relationship at Alpine when crashing into his teammate in Monaco after the red flag had been deployed, is known for his prickly relationships with teammates and team bosses.
It was rumored during the Miami Grand Prix that Ocon and Haas F1 team boss Ayao Komatsu had a heated dispute, which led to speculation that the French driver would be leaving the team at the end of the season. As expected, this was denied by Haas, with Ocon claiming the reports were akin to online “bullying.”
With Max deciding to stay at Red Bull, the expected massive domino effect now looks unlikely. Ocon may be replaced at Haas and certain reports suggest Valtteri Bottas’ drive for Cadillac is at risk, yet other than these two potential seat changes, the field looks relatively stable.
Verstappen Considered Retirement Over Switching Teams
Verstappen has been speaking in Zandvoort about the journey that led to speculation he was ready to leave Red Bull for another F1 team. The reality of the situation behind the scenes was that Max was in fact prepared to retire from F1, rather than switch allegiances away from Red Bull.
“I was closer to retiring than changing teams,” he told assembled media in Zandvoort. “I have to say, after the first few races, I said to Laurent [Mekies, Red Bull team principal], ‘don’t come to me with any kind of questions about the future, because I don’t even know if I want to stay.’ But honestly, we always kept it very open.
“I mean, I love racing. I had a lot of very good discussions with F1, but also with the FIA [about the regulations]. We are, let’s say, slowly working towards something that becomes better and better. So also from my side, I adapted, I accept the situation that I think we’re all in, and just trying to make the best of that.
“And I think also with the year that I signed to, it again opens up the door when potentially the V8s come in to look at that again.”
Addressing Engine Flaws and “Yo-Yo” Racing
While F1’s CEO, Stefano Domenicali, has been peddling the line that F1 is more exciting for the fans this season than last, behind the scenes there clearly have been intense discussions over the future of the sport.
The current regulations were intended to be in force until the end of 2031, yet Verstappen’s comments today reinforce the notion that the current power units could be ditched early and a new era of F1 power introduced in 2030.
The problems that have arisen with this new era of F1 power stem from manufacturers wishing to increase the hybrid component from around one-sixth of the internal combustion engine to a 50/50 split. This has led to “yo-yo” racing, where one driver passes another because they have more battery energy, only to be repassed when the other driver finds themselves in a similar position.
Further, the cars visibly slow along the longer straights at certain circuits long before the braking point because they have run out of battery power. Domenicali recently referred to discussions he has had with Verstappen over the future of F1, and so it seems the hamster wheels have been spinning behind the scenes between the FIA, F1, and the drivers.
Pushing for Lighter Cars and V8 Engines
FIA official Nikolas Tombazis stated last week that the next generation of F1 cars would be significantly lighter than the current heavy machines. He cited a minimum target of 80 kg to be slashed from the minimum weight limit.
To achieve this, the complex and expensive hybrid systems have to go, which aligns with the FIA president’s comments earlier this season that the sport would return to a V8 engine specification with “very, very little electrification.”
Currently, the issues that remain surround whether the next generation of F1 engines should include a turbo or be naturally aspirated. In terms of weight, the decision appears to hinge between a minimal hybrid or a turbo, according to Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
With Verstappen now nailing his colors to the Red Bull mast, it appears the previously expected massive round of musical chairs will not happen, bar the odd driver change.
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A.J. Hunt is Senior Editor at TJ13, where Andrew oversees editorial standards and contributes to the site’s Formula 1 coverage. A career journalist with experience in both print and digital sports media, Andrew trained in investigative journalism and has written for a range of European sports outlets.
At TJ13, Andrew plays a central role in shaping the site’s output, working across breaking news, analysis, and long-form features. Andrew’s responsibilities include fact-checking, refining editorial structure, and ensuring consistency in reporting across a fast-moving news cycle.
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Max was clear already in Bahrain testing that he’d rather stop altogether than switch teams or take a sabbatical, but no real reason in the end for staying put, especially since he was never actually about to leave anyway.
No domino effect was ever on the table since the direction of travel this whole time has clearly been pointing towards next to no changes; hence, a massive round of musical chairs for next season has never been on the table, as I’ve rightly been reasonable about my expectations this whole time.
If Ocon is to be replaced by Camara (as everything points to), it’d be about the team’s longer term prospects rather than him because he hasn’t actually been performing badly but simply been excessively affected by factors beyond his control, nor isn’t he even been beaten week in week out since he’s also outperformed Bearman more than once, most recently in the last round, not to mention the team’s overall struggle for performance since the Miami GP makes their precise finishing order a moot point, especially since Bearman equally finishes well outside Q3 & points, so people should be realistic.
Even Komatsu has pointed out that Ocon has been particularly affected by external factors & the team’s struggle for rear downforce stability.
The claim following the Miami GP about a fallout was rightly denied because that was false to begin with, so both were simply honest about the situation.
Ultimately, Ocon being replaced by Camara is most likely the only change because, just like Audi & Alpine, Cadillac is also happy with their drivers, so they aren’t about to change after only one season, nor has Bottas been at risk at any point, so all these claims have also been unfounded the whole time.
Finally, as pointed out before, reducing the overall weight by that much doesn’t require ditching hybrid altogether because a small battery alongside the ICE, combined with a return to the 1998-2016 car width & 2010-2016 (or 2013) lengths would automatically reduce overall a lot, meaning that setting the minimum car+driver weight into the 670s at the very least should be perfectly achievable.