There’s a long time until the 2028 Formula One season, but that doesn’t stop us from trying to predict the driver lineup. This article builds on the 2027 Silly Season article.
Last updated: 20 August 2026
Mercedes
Kimi Antonelli – Oscar Piastri
With Verstappen committed to Red Bull, Mercedes will continue prioritising Antonelli. By 2028, Kimi should be established as the clear lead driver at Brackley, and Russell might take a gamble on another team.
Mercedes don’t have any talented juniors at the moment, so they would look for an established name who can help them secure WCC’s. Piastri might decide to go for a sideway move if he can’t beat Norris at McLaren.
McLaren
Lando Norris – Gabriel Bortoleto
Norris won’t leave McLaren for a while. The staff loves him, and Zak Brown is clearly willing to build the team around Norris.
If Piastri leaves, they’ll have to find a solid replacement. Gabriel Bortoleto is a decent talent who was previously part of the McLaren academy. He could be a great second-driver with potential for more.
Ferrari
Charles Leclerc – Oliver Bearman
Leclerc is on a long-term contract. There’s no way he will leave Ferrari, even though he probably should look for a more capable team.
Bearman is a top-rated talent and will likely replace Hamilton in 2028. Of course, there’s a chance that Hamilton could extend his career further, but if he loses to Charles in 2026 and 2027, there’s little reason to continue.
Red Bull
Max Verstappen – Arvid Lindblad
Verstappen is on a long-term contract and Red Bull are lucky to have the fastest driver in the world.
Hadjar probably gets trashed in 2027, while Arvid Lindblad might have a breakthrough. Red Bull would love to pair Verstappen up with Lindblad, as they would be set up well for the future.
Aston Martin
Lewis Hamilton – Lance Stroll
Lewis probably leaves Ferrari after 2027 and his most likely destination is Aston Martin, to fulfill another dream of driving a Newey car and potentially getting another title shot with an easy teammate next to him. Aston would provide him an excellent salary as well.
Sadly, Stroll stays. Not because he’s a good driver but simply because daddy owns the team. What an absolute joke and it’s a disgrace for F1 that this nepotism is allowed to continue.
Williams
Carlos Sainz – Alex Albon
Both drivers are stuck in purgatory. Sainz is easily good enough for a top seat, and perhaps Albon is as well. But the top teams all have their own stars and prospects.
Sainz was foolish not to sign with Sauber/Audi when he had the chance. Instead, he will get an incredible salary from Williams in exchange for giving up his sporting ambitions.
Audi
George Russell – Freddie Slater
The aging Hülkenberg is still doing fine, but 2027 could be his final season. George Russell needs a new high-upside seat after being beaten at Mercedes, so he’d have to gamble on either Audi or Aston Martin.
With Bortoleto promoted to McLaren, Audi can bring in their own supertalent. Freddie Slater would pair up with Russell for a surprising all-English lineup at Audi.
Within a year or two, Russell might again be outclassed by a more talented youngster.
Alpine
Pierre Gasly – Franco Colapinto
The most difficult lineup to predict. But strangely, we are just going to guess that they retain their current drivers. Alpine don’t have a strong youth academy at the moment. They will have to bring in a bigger talent eventually, but they are in no rush to do so.
Flavio Briatore prioritises car development and he would rather sign cheap drivers until the car is truly competitive. Gasly is a good measuring stick for performance, and Colapinto brings in sponsors.
Haas
Rafael Câmara – Ugo Ugochukwu
Câmara is certainly bound for F1, and I see him debuting for Haas in 2027. Esteban Ocon is on a 3-year contract that runs until the end of 2027. But Ocon has no upside and is a below-average developer, so Haas likely kick him out early.
With Bearman going to Ferrari, who would Haas bring in to replace him? Perhaps Ugo Ugochukwu who is currently doing well in F3. It would – surprisingly – be the first time Haas sign an American driver.
Racing Bulls
Nikola Tsolov – Mattia Colnaghi
Tsolov is already predicted for 2027. Unless he seriously disappoints next to Lindblad, he is likely given another year.
Regarding the other seat, anything could happen at Racing Bulls. Their academy is surprisingly weak at the moment, so they will certainly sign some new drivers over the next few years. As it looks now, Colnaghi is an option to partner Tsolov, but this could easily change if the Italian-Argentine driver keeps underperforming in the junior series. He will be listed here, but only as a placeholder.
Cadillac
Sergio Pérez – Liam Lawson
Bottas is likely out at this point. Pérez seems motivated enough to stay for a few years, although 2028 might be his last dance.
Lawson could move to Cadillac as early as 2027 to cash in on his good results before the paddock realises he isn’t that good. Cadillac won’t find better drivers until they advance to the upper midfield, so this lineup is temporarily acceptable.
Out of F1
Fernando Alonso, Nico Hülkenberg, Isack Hadjar
In this driver lineup prediction, I expect three new drivers to enter F1 in 2028 (Slater, Ugochukwu, Colnaghi).
This also means that three must leave – unless a new team enters the series. But that probably won’t happen until 2029.
Alonso is just too old at this point and if Lawrence Stroll gets a chance to replace him with Hamilton, he probably will.
Hülkenberg’s age means that he is probably out by this time as well – retiring on his own terms to make space for Audi’s gigatalent Slater.
Red Bull will almost certainly develop the car in Verstappen’s direction over late 2026 and 2027. That means Hadjar could begin to struggle massively and join a long list of demoted Red Bull second drivers. Sadly for Hadjar, who is a decent driver, it would be difficult to find an available seat in this scenario. Perhaps he could join Alpine, or go back to Racing Bulls, but even those options are underwhelming.
