Ferrari could eventually face a challenge far bigger than simply replacing Lewis Hamilton’s results if Oliver Bearman succeeds the seven-time Formula 1 World Champion at Maranello. While the Haas driver remains closely associated with a future Ferrari seat, Hamilton’s resurgence has complicated both the sporting timeline and the commercial consequences of any eventual change.
According to the Italian daily newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, Hamilton contributes approximately €90 million to Ferrari’s revenue, equivalent to roughly £77 million. The scale of that reported commercial impact illustrates why replacing one of Formula 1’s biggest names would create a very different problem from simply deciding whether Bearman is ready to drive the car.
Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari resurgence makes Oliver Bearman wait longer
Oliver Bearman has long been linked with a future promotion to Maranello and is widely viewed as a potential successor when a Ferrari seat eventually becomes available. With Charles Leclerc having agreed a new contract extension, the focus has increasingly turned towards Hamilton’s side of the garage as the most likely long-term opening.
That opening, however, may not arrive quickly. The seven-time world champion’s future remains central to Ferrari’s planning, with the wider Lewis Hamilton Ferrari contract and 2028 outlook already shaping the discussion around Bearman’s potential promotion.
The young Briton has acknowledged that Hamilton’s improved form is not ideal for his own career ambitions. At 41, the Ferrari driver has turned his situation around during the 2026 campaign and currently sits second in the Drivers’ Championship, removing much of the uncertainty that previously surrounded how long he might remain competitive in Formula 1.
If Hamilton remains in the Ferrari seat through 2028, Bearman could be forced to wait until at least 2029 for a realistic opportunity at Maranello. Whether the Haas driver would be prepared to remain patient for that long is one of the key questions surrounding his career, particularly as his current development continues away from the works team.
Replacing Lewis Hamilton would bring enormous pressure
Even if Bearman eventually gets the opportunity, the sporting challenge would be formidable. He would not simply be stepping into another Formula 1 seat; he would be succeeding the most successful driver in the championship’s history.
Bearman has continued to develop at Haas and already demonstrated that he could handle the pressure of driving a Ferrari when he made his unexpected debut for the Scuderia in 2024. That experience strengthened the argument that he could eventually belong at Maranello, and the question of Oliver Bearman’s route towards a future Ferrari seat has remained a recurring part of the team’s longer-term driver discussion.
However, performing well as a highly rated prospect and replacing Hamilton permanently are very different challenges. Expectations would inevitably rise sharply once Bearman was asked to occupy the seat previously held by a seven-time champion, regardless of how much additional experience he gains before that moment arrives.
Hamilton reportedly brings around £77m to Ferrari revenue
The commercial dimension potentially makes the succession question even more difficult. La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that Hamilton contributes approximately €90 million, or around £77 million, to Ferrari’s revenue.
The report also states that Ferrari has signed eight contracts since the British driver joined the team in 2025, while the organisation’s revenue has risen significantly. Given Hamilton’s profile as one of Formula 1’s most recognisable figures, his ability to generate substantial commercial interest is hardly surprising.
That creates a benchmark Bearman would be extremely unlikely to reproduce immediately. There is no suggestion that his driving talent is in question, and several more seasons of Formula 1 experience with Haas could make him an even stronger sporting candidate by the time Ferrari has a vacancy. Commercially, however, replacing Hamilton is an entirely different proposition.
The seven-time world champion brings a level of global recognition accumulated over an extraordinary Formula 1 career. Bearman could develop into a major sporting asset for Ferrari, but matching the same commercial impact would be an exceptionally demanding target and may never be realistic on the same scale.
Ferrari must balance sporting succession with commercial impact
That leaves Ferrari with two interconnected problems whenever Hamilton eventually leaves. The first will be identifying the right driver to maintain the team’s sporting ambitions. The second will be dealing with the commercial effect of losing a figure reportedly responsible for such a significant contribution to revenue.
Bearman appears to be one of the clearest candidates from a sporting perspective, and the longer he develops at Haas, the more experienced he should be when an opportunity finally arrives. Yet the commercial transition cannot simply be assumed to follow the same trajectory. Ferrari may therefore have to account for a significant change in the value generated by its driver line-up when planning for the post-Hamilton era.
Red Bull interest adds pressure to Ferrari’s Bearman timeline
The dilemma does not belong exclusively to Ferrari. Bearman also has to decide how long he is willing to wait. He is targeting a Maranello seat, but a young driver with ambitions of reaching the front cannot afford to depend indefinitely on a single possible opening.
Red Bull has shown interest in the Haas driver, adding another element to the decision. Ferrari’s management of its young prospect has already become more complicated because Red Bull’s reported interest in Oliver Bearman gives him another possible direction if the route to Maranello remains blocked.
That makes timing especially important. Ferrari would prefer to retain a talented driver it has helped develop, but the longer Hamilton remains competitive, the harder it becomes to offer Bearman a clear promotion date. The British youngster, meanwhile, has to balance the appeal of eventually racing for Ferrari against the risk of spending too much of his career waiting for a vacancy.
The situation could therefore become one of Ferrari’s defining long-term driver decisions. Lewis Hamilton’s 2026 resurgence strengthens the sporting argument for keeping him, while his reported £77 million contribution to revenue underlines the commercial value of doing so. Bearman may still represent the future, but replacing the seven-time world champion would require Maranello to manage far more than a simple change of names in the cockpit.
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