Ferrari eyeing Oscar Piastri as Lewis Hamilton's replacement, claims F1 insider

Ferrari is reportedly considering Oscar Piastri as a future replacement for Lewis Hamilton when the seven-time F1 champion leaves the team and/or retires. The McLaren driver is leading the 2025 drivers' championship over teammate Lando Norris and has already been compared to former Ferrari driver and F1 legend Michael Schumacher.

This new report comes in the wake of McLaren's controversial driver swap at the Italian Grand Prix. The Woking outfit enforced team orders in the closing stages of the race, asking Piastri to give P2 back to Norris, after the latter suffered an unusually slow pit stop. Because Norris had been P2 for most of the race, with Piastri unable to catch up, the Aussie driver complied with the team orders.

In the post-race interviews, Oscar Piastri defended McLaren's 'fair' decision, highlighting that it was in the best interest of the team. However, while analyzing this fiasco on the Cortito y al Pie podcast hosted by Roldan Rodriguez, Spanish reporter Fabio Marchi indicated McLaren seems to have a bias towards Lando Norris, which could lead Piastri to leave the team.

Moreover, he revealed that the 24-year-old's next destination could be Ferrari, which is keeping an eye on him as a potential replacement for Lewis Hamilton.

"But what is clear is that if, for example, Ferrari, when Hamilton leaves... I was talking to an Italian journalist the other day, and he didn't hesitate. He says, 'Well, I've already heard things that Ferrari was keeping an eye on Piastri,'" Marchi said. [20:18 onwards, as translated by Google]

"I mean, if Piastri gets angry within the team, he won't hesitate to go to another great team. So, I think that McLaren also has to know how to manage the egos of its two drivers," he added.

Lewis Hamilton joined Ferrari on a multi-year deal from 2025 onwards, a move that Oscar Piastri referred to as the "biggest driver move that's happened ever." However, the Aussie driver replacing Hamilton seems highly unlikely in the near future, considering he signed a multi-year extension with McLaren in March this year.

Even though Hamilton is having an underwhelming first season with the Scuderia, the 40-year-old is unlikely to hang up his boots before seeing where the men in scarlet red stand in the pecking order after the 2026 F1 regulations reset.

Oscar Piastri's humble response to Michael Schumacher comparisons

Oscar Piastri on the F1 Italian Grand Prix podium at Monza - Source: Getty

Oscar Piastri is the favorite to win the 2025 F1 drivers' title over McLaren teammate Lando Norris. The 24-year-old's cool and level-headed demeanor has been touted as the pivotal factor in the intra-team fight for the championship.

Piastri's victory at the Dutch Grand Prix, where Norris was running P2 until a mechanical failure on his MCL39 ended his race, took his lead from 9 points to 34 points in the championship - a decisive moment in the context of the championship.

In the post-race press conference at Zandvoort, he was asked about his feelings on being compared to seven-time F1 champion Michael Schumacher.

"Anytime you get mentioned in the same sentence as Michael Schumacher, that's a good thing. I've got a hell of a long way to go to be talked about in the same air as someone like him, but I'll take it," the McLaren driver said via F1.com.

Oscar Piastri's lead over Lando Norris came down from 34 to 31 points after McLaren's driver swap decision at the Italian Grand Prix. If history is any indication, the title battle between them could turn ugly as the 2025 season nears its close.