Hamilton’s Ferrari future in F1 thrown into doubt after brutal Vegas weekend

Steiner, speaking on the Drive to Wynn podcast, emphasised the importance of Ferrari getting their 2026 car right.

The 60-year-old also suggested that the performance of the Italian team’s car next year could play a key role in Hamilton’s decision to continue racing after labelling this season as his worst.

“He needs that lift next year with the new regulations. He never liked his ground-effect cars. At Mercedes, he was always, I wouldn’t say struggling, but not the old Lewis Hamilton,” he said.

“Next year, with the new regulations, let’s see how he can adapt to a new car. He gets a new opportunity. I call it like this: if that opportunity doesn’t work next year, I do not think that he wants to continue in 2027 because this is not what he wants to do,” Steiner added.

The Italian-American motorsports chief also expressed his belief that Hamilton is currently frustrated and merely counting down the remaining races of the current ground-effect era as F1 introduces sweeping new regulations for the 2026 season.

Referencing Hamilton's 20th place on the gird for last weekend's race in Las Vegas after a dreadful qualifying, Steiner said:“Starting last in a Ferrari, whatever happened with the final lap [in qualifying], I mean, he wouldn’t have gotten pole position, no chance. He’s quite frustrated. When you see him talking after something like this, you can see that he’s down.

“But I think he says to himself, I’ve got two more races to go, one more Sprint Race, let’s see how we start next year and then make a decision on what to do. This is not what any of us expected, and neither did he expect this one."

The Las Vegas Grand Prix unfolded in a challenging manner for Hamilton. The former Mercedes driver failed to advance past the first round of qualifying, and despite finishing the main race in 10th place, he labelled it as one of the most meaningless points he had scored so far.

Earlier, Hamilton admitted to feeling awful after his qualifying session. The 40-year-old described his 2025 campaign as the worst of his 18-year career so far.

This comment from Hamilton followed his damning self-assessment at the Hungarian Grand Prix, where he called himself “useless.” Hamilton cut ties with Mercedes at the end of last season and has stuggled to adapt to the new team.

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