F1 paddock rumours suggest Ferrari are interested in ‘remarkable’ driver replacing Lewis Hamilton

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Lewis Hamilton experienced what Monza is like as a Ferrari F1 driver at last week’s Italian Grand Prix, but his debut season with the Scuderia continues to disappoint.

The 40-year-old moved to Maranello at the start of the 2025 F1 season after 12 years driving for Mercedes. But never before Hamilton raced in red had he failed to stand on a Grand Prix podium as late into a term, with his best finishes for Ferrari to date being a trio of P4 results.

Hamilton is now 16 rounds into his first season for Ferrari and remains without a Grand Prix podium, when his previous-worst starts to a campaign took him 10 races. He had also never scored fewer points across 16 rounds than his 117 since the current system started in 2010.

Alpine adviser Flavio Briatore doubts Hamilton expected “so many problems” at Ferrari, too, having struggled to adapt to his first non-British F1 team and a new car. Team principal Fred Vasseur admits that Ferrari and Hamilton “underestimated” the scale of his adjustment, too.

Ferrari are interested in Oscar Piastri as a possible replacement for Lewis Hamilton

Hamilton suggested Ferrari “need to change driver” at the Hungarian Grand Prix this August, as well as calling himself “useless” after only qualifying P12, too. But the 40-year-old is likely to see out at least his contract for the Scuderia, which keeps him in Maranello through 2026.

READ MORE: How Lewis Hamilton’s mid-2025 results compare to Ferrari’s past champions

But Ferrari are already considering what the future could look like without Hamilton. Mundo Deportivo journalist Fabio Marchi heard one rumour in the Monza paddock at the Italian GP that Ferrari would be interested in McLaren driver Oscar Piastri one day replacing Hamilton.

Marchi said on Cortito y al Pie: “What is clear is that when Hamilton leaves, I was talking to an Italian journalist and he didn’t hesitate to say, ‘Well, I’ve already heard things that Ferrari are attentive to Piastri’.

“What I mean is, if Piastri gets angry within the team, he will not hesitate to go to another big team. So, I think McLaren also have to know how to manage the egos of their two drivers, which they are managing to do for now but with great care.”

Ferrari would have to break Oscar Piastri out of his McLaren contract through 2028

Hamilton endured another frustrating round as a Ferrari driver at Monza, as the joint-record five-time Italian GP winner only managed P6 with a deficit of 37.449 seconds as Red Bull ace Max Verstappen won. He even finished 11.825s behind his teammate, Charles Leclerc, in P4.

McLaren’s controversial team orders in the Italian GP, after telling Piastri to yield P2 to Lando Norris, largely dominated the headlines at Monza, though. Their team order also saw Bernie Ecclestone feel McLaren want Norris to win the 2025 F1 title instead of points-leader Piastri.

READ MORE: McLaren driver Oscar Piastri’s life outside F1 from height to girlfriend

It could sow a seed of doubt into Piastri’s mind, which could one day also lead the Australian into Ferrari’s clutches when Hamilton eventually retires. But it has also been said that Ferrari have already chosen Oliver Bearman as Hamilton’s eventual replacement once he calls time.

Bearman must impress at Haas if the 20-year-old is to show the Scuderia that he is the man to replace his compatriot. If not, Bearman may miss out, with Ferrari monitoring McLaren’s situation in case Piastri, who Alex Jacques says is “remarkable”, becomes available one day.

Ferrari would have to break Piastri’s £19m a year McLaren contract through the 2028 term, should the Scuderia target the 24-year-old to one day replace Hamilton. McLaren confirmed his new contract on the eve of the 2025 F1 campaign to fend off Red Bull’s interest in Piastri.