John Elkann’s recent comments have not discouraged Lewis Hamilton: despite the controversy, progress is visible, and the British driver’s contract with Ferrari still has a long way to go. Amid the media storm caused by the Ferrari President’s statements, new details about Lewis Hamilton’s deal with the Maranello team have been revealed. The seven-time world champion’s commitment to the Scuderia Ferrari will not be limited to the current season, as was already clear. The long-term goal is to move beyond the current generation of difficult-to-handle single-seaters and focus entirely on the technical revolution coming in 2026.
After the initial honeymoon period, it is now time for Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari to take stock of the situation. The debut year of the seven-time world champion with the Prancing Horse has been, to put it bluntly, disappointing. Apart from his victory in the Shanghai Sprint Race, the driver from Stevenage has yet to step onto the podium in a Grand Prix, falling 66 points behind his teammate Charles Leclerc in the standings.
However, while the first half of the season proved to be the most challenging, Lewis Hamilton’s performances have clearly improved since the summer break. The qualifying gap to Charles Leclerc has narrowed, and the two Ferrari drivers have frequently been close in race pace. The words of John Elkann, which Ferrari later described to ESPN as a “constructive criticism,” do not appear to affect Lewis Hamilton’s long-term goals with the Italian team.
Hamilton: Ferrari contract runs until 2027
As is often the case in modern Formula 1, Ferrari did not officially disclose the details of Lewis Hamilton’s contract. The standard “multi-year agreement” formula leaves room for interpretation, but paddock speculation has often suggested that the seven-time world champion’s deal followed a “2+1” structure — an initial two-year term through 2026 with an option to extend for 2027.
According to reports by Andrew Benson for the BBC, however, Lewis Hamilton’s contract with Ferrari actually spans a full three years. It will run until the end of the 2027 season, giving the British driver two more opportunities to chase the long-awaited eighth World Championship title with the new generation of Formula 1 cars.
