F1 fans say the same thing about Ferrari after hearing Lewis Hamilton is unlikely to get a new deal

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Lewis Hamilton could leave Ferrari at the end of next year. There are strong rumours that he won’t be offered a new contract when his current deal expires.

‘Senior paddock figures’ are reportedly suggesting that Ferrari won’t renew Hamilton’s deal after a disappointing debut season. Teammate Charles Leclerc has scored all seven of the team’s podiums.

Accounting for every competitive session where both drivers have been classified, Leclerc leads the overall head-to-head 33-12. He’s now 64 points ahead in the championship.

Equally, though, the team have underperformed. Leclerc has been outstanding in 2025 but has rarely come close to winning a race, an unacceptable outcome for a squad that were targeting the world championship.

F1 fans say Ferrari are blaming their drivers for their own shortcomings

The story, which originated from ESPN, was shared on Reddit on Friday and provoked a strong reaction from fans. The consensus was that Ferrari are making Hamilton a scapegoat rather than focusing on their own shortcomings.

One fan said ‘I don’t think having slow drivers has been their issue’, while another agreed: “I can’t remember any time in the past 20 years when Ferrari’s biggest problem was their drivers.”

As Hamilton himself has pointed out, ‘amazing’ drivers like Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso have failed to win titles at Ferrari. One user says this is proof that a driver change is ‘not going to make a difference anyway’.

The approach was described as ‘classic Ferrari’, and Fred Vasseur’s team were accused of overlooking ‘fundamental problems with their organisation’.

“Imagine operating the way Ferrari operates and having the audacity to say to a seven-time world champion that your services are not required,” a final comment read.

Fans vote on whether Ferrari made a mistake by signing Lewis Hamilton

F1 Oversteer recently ran a poll asking whether Ferrari’s move for Hamilton was a mistake. He hasn’t beaten Leclerc as often as predecessor Carlos Sainz, but it’s difficult to directly compare the two given the limitations of the 2025 machinery.

Opinions among 1,300 total respondents were very much split. At the time of writing, 46.9% have voted ‘yes’, and the other 53.1% say ‘no’.

Who could replace Hamilton if he does leave? Martin Brundle says Oliver Bearman is ready for Ferrari, and the Haas driver’s position in the Scuderia’s academy makes him the outstanding candidate.

Hamilton called Bearman’s performance ‘mega’ after he finished a career-high fourth at the Mexican GP, no doubt catching the eye of Ferrari management.