Ferrari makes huge Lewis Hamilton contract decision – report
Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton looks on after qualifying third at the 2025 Mexican Grand Prix
Ferrari will not offer Lewis Hamilton a new contract when the seven-time F1 world champion’s current deal expires, it has been claimed.
Hamilton has suffered a disappointing first season at Ferrari in F1 2025 following his blockbuster move from Mercedes last winter.
Rumour: Ferrari decides against new Lewis Hamilton contract
The 40-year-old remains without a podium for his new team after 20 appearances and trails teammate Charles Leclerc by a massive 64 points with four races remaining in 2025.
Hamilton has enjoyed success in the sprint format and memorably took victory in the mini race in China in March.
However, he was disqualified from the main event the following day due to excessive skid-block wear, bringing into sharp focus Ferrari’s fundamental ride-height problem with the SF-25 car.
The team has been forced to manage the issue in the months since, raising the car’s ride height at the cost of performance.
Lewis Hamilton vs Charles Leclerc: Ferrari head-to-head scores for F1 2025
👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between team-mates
👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates
Hamilton has finished no higher than fourth for Ferrari to date with Leclerc claiming a total of seven podiums, the latest of which came with his second-place finish at last weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix.
Ferrari opted against specifying the exact length of Hamilton’s contract when it signed him from Mercedes in February 2024, describing the arrangement only as a multi-year deal.
However, it is widely believed that Hamilton’s contract – worth an eye-watering $57million (£43.3m/€49.2m) according to PlanetF1.com estimates – is due to last at least until the end of the 2026 season.
And a report by ESPN has claimed that ‘several senior figures’ have indicated that Ferrari will not offer Hamilton an extension when his current deal expires.
The claims come after a separate report by Italian publication La Gazzetta dello Sport claimed in August that Hamilton’s contract contains an option – purely on his side – allowing him to extend his deal until the end of 2027.
If true, the ‘controversial’ clause would give Ferrari ‘little say’ on Hamilton’s future even if he continues to underperform next season.
However, it is doubtful that Hamilton would want to continue into 2027 if his on-track struggles persist for another year.
In an interview with French outlet L’Equipe last month, Hamilton insisted that he has “no intention of stopping anytime soon” despite his 2025 woes.
Hamilton revealed earlier this year that he is keen to “go the extra mile” to make a success of his Ferrari career, sending a series of documents to the team and holding a series of meetings with top management.
Speaking at the Belgian Grand Prix in July, Hamilton said that his hands-on approach was driven by his “refusal” to follow in the footsteps of Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel, established champions who failed to win the title with Ferrari.
Hamilton’s documents are believed to relate to changes to the car as well as working methods, communication between different departments and the execution of race weekends.
The former Mercedes driver revealed that he submitted one document to Ferrari after the first few races of the season, with two more arriving in the break between the British and Belgian grands prix before the summer break.
More on Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari from PlanetF1.com
According to Italian publication Corriere della Sera, Hamilton sent another report to Ferrari in the aftermath of the Singapore Grand Prix earlier this month.
It came hot on the heels of Hamilton identifying Ferrari’s policy of sending both cars to the end of the pit lane during qualifying as an area of weakness in Singapore.
Hamilton argued that Ferrari’s policy contributed to he and Leclerc losing crucial tyre temperature as they waited at the end of the pit lane.
That, in turn, compromised their tyre preparation on outlaps and contributed to the drivers underperforming on their flying laps.
