Ferrari told to ‘wake up’ as new Lewis Hamilton replacement option emerges
Lewis Hamilton's dream Ferrari move is not going to plan
Ferrari should consider a move for Sauber driver Gabriel Bortoleto when Lewis Hamilton eventually leaves the team.
That is the claim of former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, who has urged Ferrari to “wake up” and take note of the Brazilian’s talent.
Gabriel Bortoleto to replace Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari?
Hamilton has had a difficult start to life at Ferrari since his high-profile move from Mercedes last winter, failing to register a podium across his first 14 appearances for his new team.
The seven-time World Champion, who is believed to be contracted to Ferrari until at least the end of the F1 2026 season, cast doubt over his future at the recent Hungarian Grand Prix.
After qualifying a distant 12th on a day team-mate Charles Leclerc claimed Ferrari’s first pole position of the season, Hamilton repeatedly referred to himself as “useless” before suggesting that the team should consider replacing him.
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
The 40-year-old went on to allude to potential trouble behind the scenes at Ferrari, adding: “There’s a lot going on in the background that’s not great.”
Bortoleto graduated to Formula 1 with Sauber in F1 2025 after winning the F3 and F2 feeder categories in successive seasons in 2023 and 2024, following in the footsteps of McLaren driver and current championship leader Oscar Piastri, who achieved the same feat in 2020/21.
The Brazilian, who is managed by Aston Martin driver and two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso, has impressed alongside veteran Nico Hulkenberg in his debut season with the soon-to-be Audi F1 team, scoring points in three of the last four races.
Ecclestone, who has close ties to Brazil, revealed recently that he helped Sao Paulo-born Bortoleto secure an opportunity in F1, claiming the rookie is “worth his weight in gold.”
And the 94-year-old, who says Hamilton risks “cheating himself” by continuing his F1 career, has urged Ferrari to make a move for Bortoleto when a vacancy next appears in the team’s driver lineup.
According to Swiss-German publication Blick, Ecclestone said: “Bortoleto’s strong performances in a midfield team like Sauber should really wake Ferrari up now.
“The next driver question for the Italians needs to be resolved with the Brazilian.”
Ecclestone’s comments come after Alonso claimed in Hungary that Bortoleto is “the best rookie of this generation” and argued that he deserves more credit for his achievements in F1 2025.
Alonso told media including PlanetF1.com: “If he was English or something, and finished sixth in a Sauber, he’d be in all the news. What he does is exceptional.”
A report in Italy last week claimed that Hamilton’s contract contains an option allowing him to extend of his Ferrari deal until the end of the 2027 season regardless of his performance level, giving the team little say in the matter.
However, it is possible that the seven-time World Champion could opt to retire at the end of 2026 if he feels he can no longer compete at the front.
More on Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari from PlanetF1.com
Earlier this week, Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur offered an astonishing insight into Hamilton’s disappointing first season at the Scuderia, claiming that the driver “sometimes exaggerates the problems he sees in the car.”
Vasseur also said that Hamilton’s emotional reaction to setbacks only worsen the situation for Ferrari.
Asked what he can do to help make Hamilton comfortable within the team, Vasseur said: “Stay calm.
“Build on the fact that he has already taken the first step. Don’t let things like what happened in Budapest get you down.
“You have to calm him down and explain to him that in Q2 [in Hungary] he was only a tenth of a second behind the driver [Leclerc] who later took pole position. That’s no big deal.
“The message he sends out only makes things worse.
“Most of the time, he’s only that extreme with the press. By the time he comes into the briefing room, he’s usually calmed down again. That’s just his way.
“For me, it’s no big deal. He demands a lot. From others, but also from himself. I can live with that.
“Nico Hulkenberg was the same when he drove for me in Formula 3. He demanded an awful lot from the team, but he was also there every morning at 6.30 a.m.”
“We solve the problems step by step. They’re not huge, they just look that way.
“If the braking system isn’t quite how the driver would like it, then maybe half a tenth is lost there.
“From the outside, it’s often difficult to quickly identify exactly where he’s losing that half-tenth.
“Such a minimal time difference can ruin your whole weekend. It can be the difference between Q2 and Q3.
“Lewis sometimes exaggerates the problems he sees in the car.
“The team then naturally wants to respond and everyone jumps on the problem.”
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