'Obvious' Lewis Hamilton Ferrari replacement emerges

Hamilton looking to the side with a serious expression against a red, white and yellow background and white-out image of Ollie Bearman's silhouette — Photo: © IMAGO

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'Obvious' Lewis Hamilton Ferrari replacement emerges

The next man up at Ferrari has been revealed

Matthew Hobkinson Lead Editor

F1 Editor & Journalist

Thursday 1 January 2026 08:55

An 'obvious' replacement for Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari has emerged according to one former F1 team principal should the seven-time world champion not be able to turn things around.

All hopes for Hamilton and Ferrari making a success of their partnership now rest on 2026.

New regulations, new rules, new beginnings - and boy does Hamilton need a fresh start.

Article continues under video

Things couldn't have gone much worse for the Brit in 2025 (aside from the Chinese GP sprint race) as Hamilton endured challenge after challenge in his SF-25.

At 40, the former Mercedes man knows that time is not on his side and if things don't click into gear sooner rather than later, a change could be on the cards for the Scuderia.

Hamilton's 'obvious' Ferrari replacement

Former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has now revealed that he believes Ollie Bearman to be the natural, or indeed 'obvious', replacement for Hamilton if things continue to spiral.

The 20-year-old has shown his class behind the wheel during the 2025 season, securing 41 points and P13 in the drivers' standings.

The rookie also had to endure negative moments, but managed to find his groove and grew in confidence as the season went on.

“I mean this year starting off being fast but making mistakes, but second half of the season he got rid of them, and it’s just like a switch,” Steiner told the Red Flags podcast when speaking about Bearman.

“In the first half of the season, I thought he’s taking too much risk with the car he had, and therefore he had a few offs, and it wasn’t good, got a lot of penalty points.”

“He still kept on collecting them in the second half of the season, but he didn’t make mistakes anymore, even in the race, fighting hard,” he continued.

“We all know that he can overtake and as you said, I think for him the door should be open to Ferrari for ’27, because if Lewis hasn’t got the success he needs to have, I don’t think that he continues and then there is the obvious candidate there for Ferrari."

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Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Guenther Steiner Ollie Bearman