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One of the most interesting aspects of the Formula 1 driver market next season will be the futures of Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.
Ferrari had an incredibly disappointing 2025 campaign, failing to win a single Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton gave the tifosi false hope with his victory in the Sprint Race in China, but the team’s double disqualification the following day was a more accurate representation of how the season would go.
One of the many low points for Ferrari last season was when Charles Leclerc managed to miss out on a podium at the Hungarian Grand Prix after leading the race going into the final round of pit stops.
True or false? Charles Leclerc will not win an F1 title with Ferrari.
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It highlighted how far off the pace the SF-25 was last year, and has put further pressure on 2026 when team principal Fred Vasseur revealed Ferrari stopped work on last year’s car in April.
This has unsurprisingly led to speculation about Hamilton and Leclerc’s futures with the Scuderia.
It’s now emerged that the Monegasque driver could end up prolonging Hamilton’s Ferrari career, but not necessarily for the reasons that Vasseur will be hoping.
READ MORE: Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend
Charles Leclerc’s potential Ferrari exit could prolong Lewis Hamilton’s Formula 1 career with the team
A report from ESPN in the build-up to the 2026 Formula 1 season has shared more details about Ferrari’s future line-up.
Leclerc was the leading driver at Ferrari last year, looking more comfortable in a very difficult-to-drive car than the seven-time world champion.
The 28-year-old used his experience with the team to set up his car in unusual ways to extract the maximum out of a machine that was firmly in the midfield by the end of the year.
Hamilton was making mistakes no one had seen before by the end of the season, after getting eliminated in consecutive Q1 sessions and only finishing above P8 once in the final eight Grand Prix.
Finish the sentence: In 2027, the Ferrari driver line-up will be…
Many believe that Leclerc is now entering his peak years, and if that’s the case, he can’t afford to do so with a Ferrari team unable to fight for titles.
Red Bull have been linked with Leclerc, and the report from ESPN suggests that the Monegasque driver’s future might ‘dictate’ Hamilton’s.
It’s believed that Ferrari wouldn’t allow both drivers to ‘walk’ at the end of 2026.
Therefore, if Leclerc does decide to depart, Hamilton would be kept on for 2027, and the prime candidate to join him has already been established.
READ MORE: Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton’s life outside F1 from net worth to family
Oliver Bearman is already lined up to be Ferrari’s next Formula 1 driver
Ferrari have always made sure to have a pipeline of drivers ready to go in case one of their established stars leaves.
Occasionally, it was attracting the likes of Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel or Fernando Alonso to lead the team as previous world champions.
However, Leclerc spent a successful year at Sauber before moving back to Maranello, and last year, Oliver Bearman took part in his first full F1 season with Haas.
Bearman has been touted as Ferrari’s next driver for some time, and the improvement he made throughout 2025 will be very encouraging to his bosses in Maranello.
Guenther Steiner has already predicted Bearman to be Ferrari’s next champion, but that will require far more than talent.
If they can’t keep hold of Leclerc, then Bearman would benefit from at least a year of tutelage under Hamilton.
That would be invaluable even if the seven-time world champion doesn’t rediscover his best form during the new era of Formula 1 starting this year.
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