New Lewis Hamilton Ferrari contract could force F1 star to leave team

Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Hungary, 2026 — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

New Lewis Hamilton Ferrari contract could force F1 star to leave team

Dominoes, dominoes everywhere

Chris Deeley Editor

Experienced sports writer covering F1 and other motorsports since 2023

Tuesday 1 September 2026 08:56 Updated: 10:02

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Ever been stood on a busy train, absolutely staring laser beams into the back of someone's head and mentally begging for them to get out of their seat so that you can take it, and oh god they just got a little neck pillow out of their bag?

Congratulations, you have something spiritually in common with F1 star Ollie Bearman!

The young Brit has been tabbed as a future Ferrari driver since before he first sat in an F1 car, joining the team's driver academy at the age of just 16 and quickly rising through the ranks.

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After a one-off appearance in the big time with Ferrari when Carlos Sainz was unavailable for medical reasons, Bearman got a full-time F1 drive with Haas for the 2025 season and beyond – with the understanding that he would develop at the Ferrari customer team before departing for the Scuderia when the time was right.

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Hamilton remontada complicates Bearman's future

With Charles Leclerc effectively locked in with the team unless he gets a better offer elsewhere – unlikely – the driver Bearman has been expected to replace is Lewis Hamilton.

The problem, from his perspective, is that Hamilton just will not stop driving. It looked a little last year like the seven-time world champion was not long for Ferrari, enduring a miserable first season and being comfortably outpaced by his team-mate.

Had that trend continued in 2026, it wouldn't have been a surprise to see him shuffle out of his contract at the end of its second year and into retirement, or into another, lesser team's lead seat to provide veteran leadership.

Instead, he's returned to the top step of the podium and is the leading non-Mercedes driver in the championship – and appears rejuvenated, with a contract extension expected to be announced at this weekend's Italian Grand Prix.

What does that mean for Bearman's future? Apart from there being no Ferrari seat for him to slide into, AMuS report that he's no longer contractually bound to be part of the organisation if he isn't promoted to a race seat with the Scuderia for the 2028 season at latest.

At that point – i.e. at the end of the 2027 season – Bearman's future would be his own, allowed to leave Haas and pick his own future destination independent of Ferrari's whims and wishes.

Where he'd end up is a mystery, although there's likely to be a competitive market for his services. The good news, though? It probably wouldn't be Haas.