Lewis Hamilton retirement verdict revealed by F1 insider

British F1 commentator David Croft has shared that he held a private conversation with Lewis Hamilton to discuss whether the seven-time champion would be returning to the sport in 2026.

The F1 legend is contracted to race with Ferrari until at least the end of next season, but after his first year in red didn't exactly go as planned, questions over an early retirement plagued Hamilton in the later stages of the 2025 campaign.

Questions regarding his future persisted, even after the conclusion of this year's championship, largely thanks to the fact that the Scuderia finished a lowly fourth in the constructors' championship this year.

Hamilton did not secure a single grand prix podium with the team throughout the whole of 2025, and he finished down in sixth in the drivers' championship.

The British icon suffered badly in his SF-25 even compared to team-mate Charles Leclerc, who finished 86 points above the 40-year-old in the standings.

Fears over Hamilton's exit from the sport can now be put to rest as Croft has revealed that Hamilton personally confirmed his participation in the 2026 season during their private talk.

Will Hamilton compete in F1 2026 championship?

"Lewis is coming back," the fellow Brit told Express Sport.

"He's not going to retire, he's not going to step down. He'll be on the grid in 2026 and I'm sure, knowing Lewis as I do, he'll feel refreshed and invigorated and raring to go after spending a bit of time away from the track.

"He can't afford to start the season like he's ending this season, and there'll be more and more questions coming his way.

"That must be so demoralising, especially for a seven-time world champion, to constantly keep answering questions about why you are so slow and why is it going so wrong. Lewis has been a great fighter throughout his career and a great battler. I think he's the GOAT, I really do, he's my greatest of all time for on and off-track reasons in that respect, and not just because he's a Stevenage boy and we all stick together.

"I caught up with Lewis, I had a chat with him in Vegas - I won’t say what we were talking about, but he just needs to believe and remember that he is Lewis Hamilton and that he's not lost that ability."

There's no doubt Hamilton is further away from a record-breaking eighth world championship title now than he has been ever since it was cruelly snatched from his grasp by Max Verstappen in 2021.

In four full seasons since then, Hamilton has only won two grands prix, and he ditched Mercedes at the end of 2024 in order to try and challenge further up the grid.

But Ferrari have been plagued by difficulties, while Hamilton himself has struggled for form, particularly in qualifying.

The hope for Hamilton is that the 2026 cars are more suited to his talents than the previous generation of cars, with wholesale regulation changes sweeping into the sport for next year.

READ MORE: Hamilton got just one piece of advice before his Ferrari move

Related