At 41 years old, Lewis Hamilton is certainly heading towards the end of his F1 career, but the Ferrari driver continues to fight on in search of an unprecedented eighth world Drivers' title. Since his last title battle in 2021, Hamilton has struggled in both Mercedes and Ferrari machinery, but started 2026 with renewed hope of making history.

However, Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has had his say on when Hamilton will call time on his career, and what conditions would have to be met in order for him to do so. Speaking to a betting site, Steiner said: “I think the question of how long he stays in F1 depends on how much success he wants to have.

Steiner's comments come after former Mercedes engineering director Aldo Costa admitted he now sees Hamilton’s chances of securing that world title as increasingly slim.

While he would personally love to see the Briton achieve that milestone with Ferrari, Costa pointed out that age inevitably affects every driver sooner or later, saying: "That moment inevitably comes for everyone, there’s not much you can do about it."

Elsewhere, former F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone has left Mercedes' George Russell out of his predictions for the 2026 title fight, focusing instead on Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen.

Antonelli has emerged as a surprise favourite in the 2026 title fight after making it three consecutive victories at the Miami GP. The 19-year-old sits 20 points ahead of teammate Russell at the top of the standings as the youngest championship leader ever.

Meanwhile, Max Verstappen's season looked like it was finally underway after his P2 Qualifying finish in Miami. The Red Bull driver has struggled with driveability and technical issues in his RB22 - as seen during a point-less weekend at Round 2 in Shanghai. Despite the Dutchman's spin on the opening lap of the Miami GP, he impressively charged through the grid on an alternative strategy to recover P5.

For Ecclestone, those performances are enough to name Antonelli and Verstappen as the two sole contenders for the 2026 title, leaving Russell after the Briton scored his second successive P4 at the Sunshine State. He told Blick: “Antonelli or Verstappen will be world champion. Red Bull has apparently overcome the slump. Max has caught fire again – and then he’s dangerous.”