Palmer tips Verstappen for 2027 title after Red Bull recovery

Jolyon Palmer has tipped Max Verstappen as a potential favourite for the 2027 Formula 1 title, pointing to Red Bull's recovery this season. The former F1 driver made the prediction on the F1 Nation podcast.

Red Bull's recent trajectory has been uneven. Development faltered midway through 2024, and the team fell well short of McLaren in 2025. It recovered towards the end of the previous car generation, but Verstappen still missed out on a fifth title. The RB22 then opened 2026 in poor shape. Since then, Verstappen has claimed his first two wins of the season, while Red Bull's fight for third in the constructors' championship has come back to life.

Palmer says the difference lies in the rules cycle. In 2024, he believes, Red Bull ran into the limits of the old regulations and had to change its development direction. He argues that the problems were already apparent by the end of that year, when Red Bull was around the level at which it started 2025. Under 2026's entirely new regulations, the team has instead made major gains from a weak baseline. Palmer expects that progress to continue into 2027 if Red Bull finishes 2026 strongly.