Formula 1: Will Lewis Hamilton’s career conclude at Ferrari?

Lewis Hamilton has driven for just two teams, McLaren and Mercedes, over the course of his 12-year Formula 1 career. But will he end his career driving for Ferrari?

Lewis Hamilton has competed in Formula 1 since the 2007 season, and he has only driven for two teams since then. He spent his first six seasons in the sport driving for McLaren before making the move to Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport ahead of the 2013 season. He has driven for the Silver Arrows ever since.

This past summer, the 33-year-old Briton signed a two-year contract extension to continue driving for the Brackley-based team through the 2020 season, but there has been no confirmation that he is set to retire after that season comes to a close.

Hamilton is now a five-time champion who has earned 73 career victories in his Formula 1 career. His championship total is tied for second on the all-time Formula 1 championships list with the championship total of Juan Manuel Fangio, and it trails only the championship total of seven-time champion Michael Schumacher.

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Hamilton’s win total sits in second on the all-time Formula 1 wins list behind only the win total of Schumacher, which is 91.

With Hamilton having won championships in four of the last five seasons, including both of the last two, and having earned no fewer than 19 victories in any two-year span since the V6 turbo hybrid era began in the 2014 season, he appears to be poised to tie Schumacher’s championships record by the end of the 2020 season, and he appears to be poised to tie if not pass Schumacher’s wins record by that time as well.

There are already rumors that Mercedes junior driver Esteban Ocon, who lost his ride at Racing Point to Lance Stroll for the 2019 season, will replace Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas, who signed a one-year contract extension with an additional one-year option this past summer to continue driving for the team through at least the 2019 season, as Hamilton’s teammate beginning in the 2020 season (or perhaps even during the 2019 season).

There are additional rumors that Mercedes junior driver George Russell, who is set to compete in Formula 1 for the first time in the 2019 season driving for Williams Racing, will be Hamilton’s heir apparent at Mercedes beginning in the 2021 season.

Hamilton himself hinted at this possibility last year. Here is what he had to say about the matter, according to ESPN.

"“While the car is in this form of rules until 2021 at least, I think that’s going to be the window I’m still here. Who knows? Maybe in 2021 I’ll hand the baton over to [Mercedes junior] George [Russell]. He’ll be there anyway before then. I’m going to keep going.”"

If all of this takes place, Hamilton’s tenure with Mercedes cannot possibly end with him having more than seven championships to his name. If he ends the 2020 season as a six-time champion or a seven-time champion, especially if he does so with fewer than or exactly 91 career victories, will he make a bid to become the sport’s first eight-time champion and 92-time Grand Prix winner, or will he retire?

Many people believe that he will sign with Ferrari, which seems a bit far-fetched but really isn’t. Hamilton himself has not ruled out this move.

Here is what he had to say about the matter, according to Wheels24.

"“At the moment it’s difficult to imagine being elsewhere. Mercedes is my family, I grew up with them. That was the case even with McLaren, but I knew that I wanted to change and show everyone that I could win with another team. I knew I could, but I wanted to prove it. At the moment I am not thinking about going to another team to win with them as well. But you can never say never.”"

In the summer of 2017, Sebastian Vettel signed a three-year contract extension to continue driving for Ferrari through the 2020 season, so his contract is set to expire when Hamilton’s Mercedes contract is set to expire.

Meanwhile, Ferrari signed Charles Leclerc as Kimi Raikkonen’s replacement beginning in the 2019 season. The contract that the 21-year-old Monegasque signed is set to keep him at the Scuderia through at least the 2022 season, so it is unlikely that Hamilton will end up replacing him at any point in time.

However, Hamilton replacing Vettel is a serious possibility.

Hamilton has proven on many occasions that he is a better driver than Vettel head-to-head, and with the number of costly yet unforced mistakes that Vettel has made over the past two seasons, it would not be surprising to see the Maranello-based team sign Hamilton as opposed to re-signing Vettel.

It would also not be surprising to see Ferrari sign Hamilton over another young driver given how long Raikkonen stayed with the team before they signed Leclerc. The 39-year-old Finn earned just one victory in his final five seasons driving for the Italian team.

While there is currently no evidence to suggest that talks between Hamilton and Ferrari regarding a deal for the 2021 season have begun taking place, there is something about the idea of Hamilton, who could very well become the recordholder in the sport’s two biggest statistical categories, driving for the sport’s most historic and most successful team that just seems right even with the recent rivalry that he has had with Vettel and Ferrari.

Will Lewis Hamilton retire from Formula 1 having driven for Ferrari, or will he retire once his stint driving for Mercedes comes to an end? Regardless, which season will be his final season competing in the sport?