Why life after F1 legend Lewis Hamilton could get tricky for Ferrari

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

Ferrari

Why life after Lewis Hamilton could get tricky for Ferrari

Ferrari might be looking for a new driver for 2027

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Monday 5 January 2026 12:54

Haas F1 star Oliver Bearman has recently been linked with a move to Ferrari to replace Lewis Hamilton, but the question is, would he even want the move?

Bearman's rookie season at Haas was full of inconsistencies, but his raw pace is undeniable, and the Brit managed to finish above much more experienced team-mate Esteban Ocon in the drivers' championship.

The 20-year-old even managed to claim a fourth-place finish at the Mexican Grand Prix, Haas' joint-best result in the team's history.

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It's been these performances that have led to Bearman being linked with a move to Ferrari to replace Hamilton, with the Brit having been a member of the Ferrari young driver academy in the past.

Hamilton suffered a torrid first season at Ferrari following his move from Mercedes, not picking up a single grand prix podium. The seven-time champion could only finish sixth in the drivers' championship as Ferrari finished fourth in the teams' championship.

2026 is the final year of Hamilton's current contract, and it's thought that if he has another season like in 2025 then Ferrari will be unlikely to opt to extend that deal for another year or two, especially when they can have someone like Bearman for a fraction of the cost.

But recent comments from Bearman have hinted that he might not want to be at a big team where 'politics' are the name of the game, with the Brit pointing to how much he enjoys being able to provide input to the smaller Haas team.

He admitted that Ferrari is the main target in the future, but that he does not want to rush to leave Haas, where he is seemingly building something special alongside Ocon.

"Yeah, I made my debut with Ferrari, so I've always had that connection with them being with the academy and I'm still with the academy," Bearman told Sky Sports F1. "We still have a very close relationship so it's the obvious target at one stage.

"But I feel like I'm just getting started with Haas and I really feel like we can do some great things here. We have many benefits and pros of being a small team and one of them is that there's no politics and there's no issues to change things and that means when coming into the team as a rookie, I'm really able to build a team around me as well."

Will other drivers feel the same way about Ferrari?

Now, it could just be a very diplomatic answer from Bearman, not wanting to upset his current team knowing that the earliest he could be at Ferrari is 2027. But what if other drivers are thinking the same thing having looked at Ferrari this year?

We all know the struggles of Ferrari's car performance in 2025, once again finishing the season without a grand prix victory, but the noise around the team has been some of the loudest it has been for many years for Ferrari.

There were the reports of the tension between Hamilton and his race engineer Riccardo Adami, the drama surrounding team principal Fred Vasseur's future with the team, as well as the comments from Ferrari chairman John Elkann about drivers Hamilton and Charles Leclerc needing to 'talk less'.

The fact is, it hasn't seemed like an enjoyable place to work in 2025. And if the team are just driving around the midfield, why would top talent want to join the Maranello-based outfit?

If Leclerc gets fed up of the fact that he has not yet been able to challenge for a championship in his career despite his obvious talent, Ferrari could be looking for two drivers soon enough, and will want drivers of Leclerc and Hamilton's quality.

Will they be able to attract the top talent as they have in previous years though? That is the real worry for Ferrari.

It's one of the reasons why former driver Jean Alesi recently said that he fears for the future of the Ferrari F1 team, the outfit that have historically speaking been the most successful team of all time.

Written by

Sam Cook - Digital Journalist

Sam Cook is a talented young sports journalist and social media professional who now specialises in Formula 1, having previously worked as a football journalist and a local news reporter for a variety of different brands.

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F1 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Ollie Bearman