Red Bull
CONFIRMED
Max Verstappen
Max Verstappen has won the hearts of both fans and his team bosses at Red Bull alike, and they made sure to secure his services for the foreseeable future with a new deal signed last year that takes him through to 2020, reportedly with a big boost in pay to go with it. He continues to prove that he's worth every cent: provided the new Honda engines deliver, he could be a genuine force in 2019.
PROBABLE
Carlos Sainz
The team had been expecting to retain Daniel Ricciardo alongside Verstappen, and this week's announcement that Ricciardo is instead leaving to join Renault is a real shock. It leaves a plum seat on the grid wide open. Carlos Sainz is the obvious choice: the Red Bull junior driver was on loan from Toro Rosso to Renault this year expressly as an insurance policy in case Ricciardo walked: now he has, surely it's just a matter of time before Sainz is confirmed in the role?
