Formula 1: Lewis Hamilton could still go to Ferrari, but when?

While he likely won’t and shouldn’t end up at Ferrari in the 2021 Formula 1 season, Lewis Hamilton could still make the move in the future.

There is no shortage of speculation regarding the 2021 Formula 1 season, even though the offseason between the 2019 and 2020 seasons is only just past the halfway mark.

Such is the case due to the fact that only four of the 20 drivers slated to compete in the 22-race 2020 season are under contract for beyond the 2020 season, with those four drivers being Esteban Ocon (Renault, 2021), Sergio Perez (Racing Point, 2022), Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing, 2023) and Charles Leclerc (Ferrari, 2024).

Additionally, the 2021 season is slated to feature Liberty Media’s new rules and regulations, including new cars and a $175 million budget cap that notably excludes driver salaries, aimed at making the sport more competitive, which could also shake up the grid.

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One rumored move, arguably the most heavily rumored move among those involving big-name drivers and big-name teams, involves the two most successful drivers of all-time (among the 20 active drivers) and the most successful team of all-time.

Six-time champion Lewis Hamilton’s contract with Mercedes expires at the end of the 2020 season, and he has been linked to Ferrari to replace four-time champion Sebastian Vettel, whose contract also expires at the end of the 2020 season.

These rumors have steadily heated up over the course of the offseason, with one report even calling the move “certain”.

Four of the five drivers who have won at least four world championships have driven for Ferrari at some point in their careers, with those four drivers being seven-time champion Michael Schumacher, five-time champion Juan Manuel Fangio and four-time champions Alain Prost and Vettel.

Hamilton is the only one who hasn’t, as he drove for McLaren in a Mercedes-powered car from the 2007 season to the 2012 season before making the most to the Mercedes factory team ahead of the 2013 season and remaining there ever since.

But a new report emerged last week stating that 35-year-old Briton and the Silver Arrows are working on another two-year contract extension that would keep him with the team through the 2022 season.

This has not yet been confirmed, but with all things considered, the report makes sense. Hamilton is slated to tie Schumacher’s all-time championships record of seven in the 2020 season, and he could not possibly be in a better position to break it in 2021 than he would be at Mercedes, even with the new rules and regulations.

Yes, it would be cool for him to win his eighth title at Ferrari, but Ferrari, despite the fact that they are the most successful team in Formula 1 history with 16 constructor titles and 15 driver titles, haven’t won a world championship since they took home the 2008 constructor title with drivers Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen, and they haven’t won a driver championship since Raikkonen won his first and only title back in 2007.

Would Hamilton really want to leave the sport’s dominant team as a seven-time champion and have to rely on it finally being Ferrari’s year to even have a chance to win a record-breaking eighth title?

Obviously we know the answer to that question considering the fact that he is slated to return to the Brackley-based team for at least another two years.

But this exact logic, coupled with everything else discussed about Ferrari’s history, is the exact reason why Hamilton could end up with Ferrari after all — just not in 2021.

If Hamilton does become an eight-time champion, perhaps even a nine-time champion or a 10-time champion, at Mercedes, what’s to stop him from driving for Ferrari to cap off his career and possibly bring them their first taste of championship glory in several years?

It wouldn’t happen until at least a few more years, but it’s still an option.

But then again, so is retirement.

Make no mistake about it; Lewis Hamilton could still compete for Ferrari in Formula 1 one day. But the 2021 season is simply too soon, and it really doesn’t make much sense for him to give up his championship-caliber ride at Mercedes for what really amounts to nothing more than a tie to the sport’s past.