Lewis Hamilton has the power over Ferrari to decide his F1 future with the team: Reports

It is being reported that Lewis Hamilton has the power over Ferrari to decide his future with the team after his contract expires at the end of the 2026 season. The British driver moved to the Italian deal at the start of the 2025 season after the switch from Mercedes was initially announced to the public in February 2024.

There were huge expectations on both Hamilton and Ferrari at the start of the year, given that many were presuming that the former might be fighting for victories and the championship. However, the reality has been far from it as the seven-time F1 world champion has struggled to match the performance of his new teammate Charles Leclerc on a consistent basis.

The 40-year-old is yet to stand on a podium for the Prancing Horses in a main race despite having a better performance in the Sprint races. Hamilton is contracted to race with Ferrari until the end of the 2026 season with an option to extend for a further year.

However, as per La Gazzetta dello Sport, Lewis Hamilton has the power to extend the contract with the Italian team, having little to no say over his decision. The former Mercedes driver will have the power to extend his illustrious career in the sport for a further season despite his initial struggles with Ferrari this year.

In his interviews, the Stevenage-born native has suggested that he had plans of stopping in the coming years and could race in the sport well into his 40s.

Ferrari team principal reflects on Lewis Hamilton's difficult start

Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur Stated that Lewis Hamilton underestimated the challenge of driving for the Italian team after coming from 12 years with Mercedes at the start of the 2025 season.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with F1.com in Hungary, the Frenchman said:

"I think perhaps that we underestimate the challenge for Lewis at the beginning of the season. He spent almost 10 years with McLaren and then 10 years with Mercedes – that’s almost 20 years with Mercedes in the same environment.

"It was a huge change for Lewis in terms of culture, in terms of people around him, in terms of software, in terms of car, in terms of every single topic was a big change perhaps that we underestimate this, Lewis and myself. But I'm very, very pleased because the last four or five races he was back into the pace."

Lewis Hamilton has scored 109 points from 14 races and three sprints in the 2025 season thus far, with his best result being a P4 in Imola and Silverstone. The British driver sits 42 points behind his teammate in the standings and has occupied P6 since the early part of the year.