2027 F1 seats still open: Bearman's Haas delay, Racing Bulls and Herta's Cadillac chance

Most of the 2027 grid is set, but a handful of seats are still officially open as the season enters its final five races. RacingNews365 counts three unconfirmed seats: Oliver Bearman's at Haas and both cars at Racing Bulls. Cadillac's lineup is officially settled on paper, but its chief executive has opened the door to change. Here is where each question stands. For the moves already done, including Rafael Câmara's promotion to Haas, see our 2027 driver market tracker.

Bearman and Haas

Bearman is expected to stay at Haas for a third season, but the contract is not signed. Speaking in Austin, he said he and team principal Ayao Komatsu both want to continue and that "the only sticking points are out of my hands," RacingNews365 reports. He described them as contractual points for his management and Ferrari, whose junior program he belongs to. The BBC also lists his 2027 Haas deal as still to be finalized.

Bearman made clear his longer term aim is a front running seat, and Ferrari remains his ultimate goal. That door is closed for now. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton hold the Ferrari seats, and the BBC says Hamilton's contract is believed to run to the end of 2027. Hamilton has even spoken about wanting to race when the sport returns to Africa, which the BBC says is expected in the early 2030s.

Racing Bulls

Both Racing Bulls seats are still unannounced for 2027, according to RacingNews365.

Herta and Cadillac

Cadillac signed Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Pérez for its debut season on long term agreements, and both are under contract for 2027. Even so, team principal Marcin Budkowski declined to confirm the pairing in Austin, as Grandprix.com reports, saying official news would come from the team.

Chief executive Dan Towriss then went further in an interview with RACER. He said Bottas has had races where he has been off the pace and that the team is "talking about that," and when asked whether reserve driver Colton Herta could still get a seat, he replied, "Yeah, there's always a chance." Those comments are quoted by Nextgen Auto. Bottas, quoted in the same report, said the team seems happy with what he brings.

Herta, 26, left IndyCar for Formula 2 this season to chase a seat. His Formula 2 campaign has been difficult, so the obstacle is the FIA super license. Grandprix.com, citing The Race, reports that Cadillac plans another practice outing for him before the season ends to help him reach the 40 point threshold, though neither Cadillac nor the FIA has confirmed that. Austin was his fourth scheduled first practice appearance of the year.

The same report says Yuki Tsunoda has also been linked with the seat, while Esteban Ocon is not expected to join Cadillac. For American fans, Herta is the obvious storyline, since Cadillac has long said it wants an American race driver when one earns the chance. Follow every update on the Cadillac hub, and read about Pérez's milestone weekend in our Cadillac Mexico City story.

What comes next

Teams often finalize their lineups between the last few races and the end of the season. Mexico City is this weekend and the Las Vegas Grand Prix follows later in November. Our Austin Cadillac report has the background on how the lineup question started.