After suffering his first winless season since joining Formula 1, speculation is swirling over Lewis Hamilton’s future at Mercedes, with his contract set to expire at the end of this season.
Mercedes has struggled to adapt to the new set of technical regulations that were introduced in 2022, losing the Constructor’s title for the first time in eight years.
While Hamilton might’ve hoped for his fortunes to turn around this year, the British driver had to wait until the Australian Grand Prix to secure a podium finish, picking up P2 after his teammate George Russell’s DNF.
If Hamilton were to leave Mercedes, there are only a handful of teams he could consider joining that have a chance of fighting at the front of the grid.
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As Red Bull’s team principal Christian Horner has rejected the idea of signing Hamilton, claiming he’s happy with the current driver lineup, the Brit’s attention could turn to Ferrari.
“I suppose it’s down to what happens at Mercedes,” former racing driver Johnny Herbert told the London Evening Standard.
“Can they turn it around? If that doesn’t work and Lewis still has the fire in his belly and thinks this is not the place for him where does he go?
“Would he go to Ferrari?
“Does he want to go there as he feels that’s where he gets a Championship?
“Would he feel he could take his energy and people from Mercedes there like Michael Schumacher did and actually change and steer it in a positive way?
“The problem with that is time.
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“The biggest difference now is that the majority of the young generation of great drivers on the grid have something that Lewis has never been comfortable with and want to put all their energies in, which is the sim stuff,” he added.
If a seat were to open up at Ferrari, Hamilton could face competition for it from the likes of Lando Norris, the young McLaren driver who is hungry for his first Grand Prix victory.
Norris was cruelly denied his first P1 finish at the 2021 Russian Grand Prix, as a poor strategy call saw him skid off the track in rainy conditions, ultimately finishing in seventh.