Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc DOUBLE F1 exit? It would tear Ferrari apart

Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc DOUBLE exit? It would tear Ferrari apart

Ferrari had an awful 2025 season

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Sunday 14 December 2025 12:59

F1 commentator David Croft has hinted that Ferrari could well be looking for two drivers for the 2027 season, if they fail to provide their drivers with a better car in 2026.

Ferrari had a winless season in 2025 in terms of grand prix victories, with neither Charles Leclerc nor Lewis Hamilton able to make any kind of impact on the season.

Seven-time champion Hamilton didn't even manage to claim a single grand prix podium, as he finished all the way down in sixth in the standings.

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Leclerc, meanwhile, finished winless for the fourth time in seven seasons with Ferrari, a damning statistic on the Maranello outfit given the obvious talents of Leclerc.

He has not yet mounted a genuine championship challenge in his whole career, despite being 28 years of age, and most of that is down to Ferrari's inability to provide him with a championship-challenging car.

And Croft believes that both Hamilton and Leclerc could be prepared to leave the team at the end of 2026, if Ferrari's poor run continues into the new set of regulations.

Hamilton is out of contract at the end of 2026, while Leclerc is understood to have certain release clauses in his deal surrounding the regulation changes.

Speaking about Hamilton, Croft told Express Sport: "It's up to Ferrari to give him a car, and Charles Leclerc as well let's not forget who, whilst Lewis has had his struggles, Charles had a fourth winless season in seven years with Ferrari.

"That is not the car they need and Ferrari will struggle to keep both drivers if they get another season like this next year."

Ferrari losing both drivers would be a disaster

While Ferrari likely already have Ollie Bearman lined up as the younger, long-term option to replace 40-year-old Hamilton, losing somebody at the peak of their powers like Leclerc would be a hammer blow.

Both drivers have a plethora of experience in the sport, and have been helping Ferrari to try and change their processes in order to turn them into a championship-challenging outfit once more.

Ferrari are without a championship of any kind since the 2008 season, and have only won 13 grands prix in the last seven seasons, damning statistics considering they are historically the most successful outfit in F1 history.

Hamilton and Leclerc have both been very vocal about the problems at Ferrari and the ways in which the Maranello outfit should change in order to fight further up the championship, with Hamilton even submitting multiple documents on the matter to the team.

If they were to lose both of them at the end of 2026, a huge reset would be needed, with the team likely having to face up to the prospect of being a midfield team for at least a few years.

Ferrari's 2026 hope

Alternatively, there is the hope that the wholesale regulation changes may just allow Ferrari to become a multiple race-winning outfit as early as next year.

F1 could potentially see a shake up in the competitive order of the teams with the changes, and Ferrari could well benefit from that.

Their drivers will likely benefit from getting rid of the SF-25 and driving a new generation of car, too, and we may well be talking about Ferrari very differently this time next year.

Either way, it's likely that they will lose Hamilton, even if next season is a success. The seven-time champion is 41 next month and, even if he doesn't opt to retire, would Ferrari really give him another £70million contract when they can have the young Bearman for a fraction of that cost?

F1 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Charles Leclerc