Seven-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton has had a rough couple of seasons, scoring just two Grand Prix victories since the end of the 2021 season, and although he seems to have regained his form under the new set of regulations to open up the 2026 season, there is still speculation that it could be his last.
Hamilton turned 41 years old in January, and he is one of several drivers who has a contract due to expire after the 2026 season ends.
The offseason between the 2025 and 2026 seasons was relatively uneventful. Aside from the addition of Cadillac as the 11th team, which resulted in the return of both Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez, just one new driver entered the sport, one driver switched teams, and one driver exited the sport altogether.
The lack of changes made sense, considering the fact that teams were always going to be prioritizing stability as they aimed to get a handle on the new regulations.
But things are expected to be shaken up heading into 2027, similar to what we saw from 2024 to 2025, after the previous offseason was the first in Formula 1 history to feature exactly zero lineup changes.
Ollie Bearman in line for Ferrari promotion
Even if Hamilton doesn't retire after the 2026 season, Ollie Bearman has established himself as the clear frontrunner to take his Ferrari seat.
Bearman, who has been a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy since 2022, impressed when he was called upon to replace Carlos Sainz Jr. in Jeddah as Sainz dealt with appendicitis in 2024, placing seventh. He then placed 10th as the replacement for the suspended Kevin Magnussen at Haas in Monza, and he placed 12th in Sao Paulo as Magnussen dealt with an illness.
The 20-year-old Briton was promoted to Haas full-time for the 2025 season, and he unsurprisingly impressed straight from the get-go. He scored 10 points-paying finishes and beat veteran teammate Esteban Ocon, a former Grand Prix winner, by two positions in the driver standings. His top finish of fourth, matching the team's best ever result, came in Mexico City.
His start to the 2026 season has been even more impressive.
While Ocon is scoreless through two Grands Prix and a sprint race, Bearman has yet to finish lower than eighth in anything.
He finished seventh in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix before placing eighth in the Shanghai sprint and fifth in the Chinese Grand Prix, and even though Max Verstappen was forced to retire his Red Bull late in the race, Bearman was well ahead of him on the race track for the entire second stint.
Bearman finds himself fifth in the standings, behind only the Mercedes duo of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli and the Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Hamilton, and even had Verstappen hung on to finish sixth in China, Bearman would still be ahead of him by a point.
Haas are fourth in the constructor standings, just one point shy of two-time reigning constructor champions McLaren for third, and Bearman is responsible for that entirely point tally, a point tally that exceeds those of reigning world champion Lando Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri.
There are still 20 races remaining on the 2026 Formula 1 schedule, but if the first two Grand Prix weekends are any indication, Bearman has emerged as the clear favorite to move to Ferrari alongside Leclerc at some point over the next few seasons.