Every time you think Lewis Hamilton has hit rock-bottom when it comes to his struggles at Ferrari, things seemingly find ways to get even worse.
The 2025 Formula 1 season has been a struggle from the get-go for Hamilton, which anybody could have predicted when looking at his Mercedes results from the first three years of the ground effect era. This is simply not the same Lewis Hamilton who won a record-tying seven world championships, including six in the first seven years of the turbo hybrid era.
But I'm not sure anybody could have predicted just how bad things would be as the 2025 season nears its conclusion, with Q1 exits suddenly becoming the norm for the 40-year-old Briton who has, quite frankly, seemed completely disinterested for most of the year.
Hamilton's Ferrari contract, valued at a record-breaking $446 million in total, is only said to extend through 2026. With Hamilton himself not exactly looking forward to 2026's new regulations, it's hard to imagine him extending his stay beyond that, even if the deal does have a driver option.
The very same folks who were convinced that him simply joining Ferrari would magically spark a career resurgence and bring world championship glory back to Maranello are the same folks now saying we shouldn't write him off before he gets a feel for the 2026 car.
Bottom line, you can't help but think that that elusive eighth world title is off the table at this point, no matter what anybody wants to believe.
Who would replace Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari?
Hamilton has shown no signs of being a driver who has any interest in competing in Formula 1, at least for Ferrari, after his contract is up, and with very little optimism of things changing next year, there has already been speculation about who might replace him in 2027.
Ollie Bearman is the hot name here. He has been a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy since 2022 and famously stepped in at Ferrari for Carlos Sainz Jr. in Jeddah at the last minute in 2024, and he did an incredible job to finish seventh, two spots ahead of Hamilton's Mercedes.
As a rookie for Haas in 2025, the 20-year-old Briton has beaten his far more experienced teammate Esteban Ocon. He matched the team's best-ever finish with a fourth place finish in Mexico City in what was the third race of his recent five-race points streak. Prior to that streak, Haas hadn't even scored points in five straight races as an entire team since 2018.
Another name that has come up is Gabriel Bortoleto. The 2024 Formula 2 champion hasn't had quite the success of Bearman, particular relative to his teammate (Nico Hulkenberg), during his rookie Formula 1 season, but he has still played a key role in getting Sauber competitive again following their last place finish in the 2024 constructor standings. While they're now ninth, they've been in the fight for sixth all year long.
The 21-year-old Brazilian has five points finishes, including a best result of sixth in Austria. His numbers in those categories are both level with those of veterans Lance Stroll and Pierre Gasly, the two drivers just ahead of him in the overall standings.
Of course, given Charles Leclerc's ongoing frustrations with Ferrari, there could very well be a scenario where both Bearman and Bortoleto end up at the Scuderia in 2027; Leclerc is reportedly exploring other options, and there could be several attractive seats open less two years from now, depending on how things look after 2026's major changes are implemented.