F1 legends Lewis Hamilton AND Fernando Alonso tipped to retire in 2026

A composite image split down the middle with Alonso in Aston Martin green with a green background on the left and Hamilton in Ferrari red with a red background on the right. Both are serious headshots with their cars behind them — Photo: © IMAGO

Lewis Hamilton AND Fernando Alonso tipped to retire in 2026

Lewis Hamilton is only contracted until the end of 2026

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Tuesday 27 January 2026 21:01

Former F1 world champion Damon Hill has suggested that both Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso will retire at the end of the 2026 season.

Hill also said that Hamilton could opt to head out of the sport before the end of this year, stating that he has lost the 'joy'.

In his final year at Mercedes in 2024 Hamilton claimed two grand prix victories, but still finished 22 points behind team-mate George Russell in the standings, while 2025 saw him suffer his biggest ever team-mate defeat, losing out by 86 points to Charles Leclerc in his first year at Ferrari.

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Two-time world champion Alonso has also suffered a poor last couple of years, despite his performance being better than team-mate Lance Stroll. Alonso has not secured a single podium in the last two seasons, despite having added eight to his tally in 2023.

Alonso has not claimed a grand prix victory since the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix, while Hamilton went podium-less in terms of grands prix last season for the first time in his illustrious career.

But Hill believes that one of both of them will be gone by the end of the year, citing that Hamilton could even have left the sport before that.

"The joy of everything has gone out of it," Hill told The Race. "Basically we're asking whether or not Fernando and Lewis, either or, will be, this will be their last season.

"We're kind of sitting here now and we kind of go all of the balance, the scales are weighing up towards them, this has got to be the last year.

Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso were rivals at McLaren in 2007

"Unless suddenly Ferrari produce a blinding car, or Adrian Newey has waved his magic wand at Aston Martin and Fernando's got a clear run at the championship.

"But either way, one of them is going to go because they can't both win! If the motivation goes, if Lewis has another year like he's been having like last year or the year before, I don't see him seeing the end of the year out.

"Because the joy of everything has gone out of it. You can't simply be, he doesn't need to sit in a car and deliver points for Ferrari if Charles Leclerc is winning or just getting more than him. He doesn't need to be there."

Will 2026 see a turnaround for F1 legends?

Hamilton is the younger of the two legends and has achieved success in the sport a lot more recently, with his last title in 2020 and Alonso's in 2006.

Yet it seems to be Hamilton who is more under pressure heading into 2026. His performances last season left much to be desired, particularly in qualifying, and Ferrari will not hesitate to replace him if they feel they can be getting similar performance out of somebody who is considerably cheaper to have on board.

Alonso, for all his struggles in 2025, still outqualified team-mate Stroll during all 24 grand prix qualifying sessions, and finished 23 points ahead of him in the drivers' championship.

In this sense, Aston Martin arguably need Alonso more than Ferrari need Hamilton.

But both men will be hoping that their respective teams can produce significantly better machinery in 2026 and allow them to fight for positions higher up the grid at race weekends.

Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Damon Hill