Lewis Hamilton's 'secret Ferrari clauses' revealed

There may be some 'secret' clauses within Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari contract which may just persuade the seven-time F1 world champion to stick around until 2026, according to reports.

Hamilton has had a dismal start to life at Ferrari, not having picked up a single grand prix podium across his first 14 race weekends with the team.

His team-mate Charles Leclerc, in contrast, has claimed five podiums in 2025 while driving the same car as his seven-time champion team-mate, and sits 42 points ahead of Hamilton in the drivers' standings.

After qualifying all the way down in 12th at the Hungarian Grand Prix while Leclerc took pole position, Hamilton described himself as 'useless', and suggested that his Ferrari team may need to axe him, despite being contracted until the end of the 2026 season.

His incredibly downbeat demeanour continued throughout the weekend, leading many to speculate that Hamilton may just be looking to walk away from the sport a year early.

However, it has been reported in Italian media that Hamilton may just have some clauses built into his Ferrari contract that will tempt him to stick around and complete the second year after all.

AutoRacer.It reported that Hamilton has technical guarantees written into his contract, which include a guarantee about Ferrari's 2026 engine being able to boost the Brit back near to the front of the grid.

Wholesale new regulation changes are sweeping into the sport for next season, and that could see a mix up of the current competitive order in F1, with Ferrari being one team that are hoping to benefit.

On top of this, the above publication also suggested that $20 million of Hamilton's reported $80 million annual salary is being put into his various charitable and business ventures, which could make ripping his contract up early an expensive move for the 40-year-old.

Will Ferrari pull a Mercedes for Hamilton?

When Hamilton opted to ditch McLaren for Mercedes for the 2013 season, it looked like quite a strange decision given where the two teams had been throughout 2012.

An average season followed in 2013, with Hamilton only able to claim one race victory and finish fourth in the drivers' championship that year.

However, unbeknownst to many onlookers, Mercedes had mastered the upcoming regulation changes for 2014 - the last huge regulation overhaul - and Hamilton went on to win six of the next seven world championships with the team.

Could Ferrari also be confident that they are in position to do that in 2026? Well, it's actually been Mercedes once again who are being rumoured to be making the biggest jump, despite now four seasons of being out of championship contention.

But if the above reports are right, Ferrari must be pretty confident that they can challenge for a first world championship title of any kind since 2008 next year, with Hamilton and Leclerc in their two race seats.

READ MORE: F1 world champions: Full list from Farina to four-time King Verstappen

READ MORE: F1 driver salaries: What stars including Hamilton and Verstappen earn

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