“Are you 100% sure you’ll drive for Ferrari next year?” – Lewis Hamilton’s blunt response on possible early exit. Lewis Hamilton addresses his future with Ferrari.

Lewis Hamilton was asked a very important question regarding his future in 2026: “Are you certain you’ll drive for Ferrari next year?” Here is the response from the seven-time world champion.

The British driver has endured a long and difficult year, during which Ferrari was expected to be among “the class leaders.” Instead, Hamilton found himself with a car that was lacking in many aspects. After the Qatar Grand Prix, he was asked whether he will continue driving the Scuderia red in 2026, and here’s how he answered.

Since the introduction of ground effect, Lewis Hamilton seems to have lost his usual rhythm. Even during his Mercedes years, his challenges with George Russell were evident, while this season, the weaknesses of the car have been highlighted in comparison to Charles Leclerc. Furthermore, the change of team, with its required adaptation, was underestimated by the British driver. Despite this, the seven-time world champion wants the team to make several changes ahead of next season. Could the disappointment of this year lead him to a drastic decision?

Hamilton: “I’m excited for a new generation of cars”

“Are you certain you’ll drive here next year with Ferrari, or will you decide during the winter?” This was the key question posed to Lewis Hamilton in the post-race interview in Losail. “No… No, no. I want… I’m excited for a new generation of cars because this has been the worst-designed car I can remember. Probably at least in my career. Perhaps even the 2009 generation was quite poor, but at least we had better tyres and more grip. But this is just a matter of bouncing and stiffness, this whole mix of things—it hasn’t been a pleasant period and we’ve had the worst races. None of us can overtake, what’s the point of racing if no one can pass?”

It’s now clear that ground effect cars have never been Hamilton’s favorite. The Qatar race highlighted the current ‘racing’ issues in Formula 1, where overtaking is nearly impossible due to dirty air. With the 2026 regulations, fans hope for closer battles and more competitive teams. Next year will be decisive for both Ferrari and the British driver. The Scuderia must return to fighting for the positions that matter, or it will again be forced to chase its rivals. Additionally, time is not on Lewis’ side, as by 2027 he could decide to leave the sport that made him the champion he is today.

Time is no longer on Lewis Hamilton’s side, and his raw post-Qatar comments made that clearer than ever.