Lewis Hamilton set for battle to keep Ferrari F1 seat

Lewis Hamilton has a Ferrari fight on his hands and this time it doesn't appear to be with his team-mate Charles Leclerc.

The Scuderia drivers have been close on track for much of the season, with the seven-time world champion having the edge with a 14-point advantage.

But Hamilton's real battle may not actually be with his team-mate, it's not really even at Ferrari. Curiously, it is at the lower midfield Haas team and what looks like being their lineup for the 2027 season.

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Ollie Bearman on the horizon

We all know about Ollie Bearman, who has impressed in two seasons at the American outfit, and has a Ferrari development contract until the end of 2027.

However, for Bearman, any more than three seasons at a Haas team happy to just make up the numbers is too much. Like George Russell at Williams at the end of 2020, the time comes when you need to move on.

So having seen off the experienced Esteban Ocon over two years, the British driver will now be out to prove he can replace Lewis Hamilton for 2028 - which could be a possibility. Of course, it will have to be Hamilton, because Leclerc has gone and got himself a new deal until the next decade.

This provides a dilemma for Ferrari. Bearman has been quick, but not super quick. He has comfortably beaten Ocon, but is this prime Ocon, or an Ocon that is going through a Eddie Irvine at Jaguar phase? Is he even a fair reference point to gauge a top driver?

Bearman has 23 points, seven more than Ocon, but even then he spent most of the summer outside of the points, which is probably car-related but does nothing for testing a driver under serious pressure either.

It feels like we have known Bearman as a Haas F1 driver for two years, yet still know nothing about him. Try and name his best race and you'll probably pick his F1 debut for Ferrari in 2024 when he replaced the unwell Carlos Sainz and grabbed an impressive seventh in Saudi Arabia.

Rafael Camara the new Kimi Antonelli?

But that's not all. F1's newest rookie on the block Rafael Camara will also be at Haas next season, as a Ferrari development driver.

Him jumping to Ferrari after just one year like Charles Leclerc at the end of 2018 isn't likely but it is also not impossible.

If the Brazilian, who is on course to win this year's F2 title, thrashes Bearman (who has proven to be no slouch) then it will be only natural for Ferrari to look at him for 2028. Look at what Kimi Antonelli is doing in his second season at Mercedes.

Ferrari's tough 2028 call

Maybe around this time in 2027, the decision will be easier, but Ferrari right now have a tough call to make on 2028. Do they give up on the Lewis Hamilton project and save themselves a huge chunk of $60m a year, in favour of a highly promising driver?

Or do they stick with a proven talent who is quick but also now ageing, and risk one of F1's best young talents being snatched up by a rival.

Either way, the battle for Hamilton's Ferrari seat for 2028 will be one of the biggest next season, and yet he is unlikely to see any of his challengers on track.

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Written by

Dan Ripley - Global Editor

I've been a massive F1 fan since the mid 1990s and continue to study the history of the sport long before that. As an experienced motor sport reporter covering F1, MotoGP and the LeMans 24 Hour race, being part of GPFans has allowed me to work with a diverse team with all sorts of different backgrounds in watching the sport and given me a greater appreciation of F1.

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