What people in the F1 paddock have been saying ‘for a while’ about Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari contract

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Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari future is once again being questioned after a desperate weekend at the Brazilian Grand Prix. Hamilton logged his second retirement of the season in Sao Paulo.

After his fifth Q2 exit of 2025, Hamilton’s hopes of a comeback fell apart in the opening laps. Contact with Carlos Sainz compromised his Ferrari aerodynamically, and then he ripped the front wing off his car by hitting Franco Colapinto’s Alpine.

Hamilton received a penalty point, in addition to a five-second sanction during the race, for the incident. With the Briton at the back of the field and unlikely to score any points, Ferrari opted to retire the car.

It’s his second penalty in as many races after he was adjudged to have left the track and gained an advantage in his Mexico scrap with Max Verstappen. That demoted him from podium contention to eighth place.

He’s only scored six points in his last three starts, having finished seventh in the Sao Paulo Sprint.

Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari contract runs for a ‘firm’ three years

BBC Sport’s Andrew Benson has been hearing from his F1 paddock contacts ‘for a while’ that Hamilton signed ‘a firm three-year deal’ at Ferrari. He’s therefore under contract until the end of 2027.

This is significant for two reasons. First, Ferrari have refused to confirm the duration of the agreement themselves.

Second, it was previously thought that Hamilton only had the option for a third year. Now, unless he walks away voluntarily or the team pay him off, it could be guaranteed.

Oliver Bearman is the standout contender to replace Hamilton given his position in Ferrari’s driver academy. Bearman strengthened his case with a superb P6 in Brazil, building on his career-best fourth at the Mexico City GP.

A recent report suggested that, based on the consensus in the paddock, Ferrari won’t renew Hamilton’s contract. However, Molly Hudson of The Times insists it’s too early for such a decision to have been made.

Ferrari are ‘closely monitoring’ Bearman and are pleased with the results of their decision to loan him to Haas, where he can ‘make mistakes and learn’ out of the ‘spotlight’.

The crucial details in the ‘small print’ of Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari contract

The Daily Mail’s Jonathan McEvoy wrote last week that, while Hamilton’s deal does run for three years, ‘release clauses are included in the small print’. The terms of these clauses are unknown, but they could be related to either driver or team performance.

Hamilton signed a two-year extension at Mercedes in August 2023, but both parties were able to opt out of the second year. He chose to do so when he received the Ferrari offer.

The Scuderia’s chairman John Elkann criticised Hamilton and Leclerc on Monday, telling them to ‘talk less’ and focus more on driving.