Course correction: F1 on the road to 2026.

Brazil is currently beating Argentina in the F1 World Championship. Gabriel Bortoleto has not only scored more points but also earned praise and the confidence of the Sauber team. His South American counterpart, Franco Colapinto, remains the only driver on the grid yet to score and has admitted to opening talks for next season, with WEC and Indy among his options. Alpine, meanwhile, has yet to comment on the Argentine’s future.

The 2026 driver market is heating up. Alpine is expected to keep Pierre Gasly and replace Colapinto — with the most radical scenario seeing the Argentine sidelined before the end of the year in favor of Valtteri Bottas. Cadillac is also set to make announcements before the Italian GP: reports suggest Mexican Sergio Pérez has already signed, while the second seat has a crowded list of contenders, including Bottas and Felipe Drugovich. The Brazilian’s case is particularly interesting: after assisting Bortoleto with his Sauber deal, Fernando Alonso is now lobbying for Aston Martin’s reserve driver — potentially a decisive endorsement.

With Max Verstappen opting to stay at Red Bull for another year, the driver market has calmed somewhat. His likely teammate is Isack Hadjar, enjoying an excellent campaign with Racing Bulls. Should that happen, his seat would likely go to Britain’s Arvid Lindblad, who turned 18 on August 8.

McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes, Haas, Williams, Aston Martin and Sauber are all expected to retain their current line-ups.

Looking further ahead, Formula 1 is studying changes to the sprint format. Beyond expanding the calendar (currently six events), the plan for 2027 includes adopting reverse-grid sprints, as already seen in F2 and F3, adding a new dynamic to the shorter races.

Meanwhile, new applications to join the championship continue to pour in. Proposals from Portugal, Turkey, Thailand, South Korea and Argentina are under review. The Emilia Romagna GP will not feature next season, while Zandvoort and Barcelona are expected to bow out in 2026 and, most likely, won’t return in 2027.

F1 is currently on summer break and will return on August 31 with the Dutch GP. The São Paulo GP will run on November 7–9 at Interlagos.