LEWIS HAMILTON could end up quitting Ferrari early if a stunning scenario plays out, according to Formula One legend Damon Hill.
Hamilton, 41, had his worst season in the sport last year as he failed to score a single podium for the first time and finished a lowly sixth in the World Drivers’ Championship standings.
The seven-time world champion has made headlines this week for rumours of his off-track romance with Kim Kardashian, but on the track things are also looking up, according to the man himself.
Hamilton revealed the new 2026 regulation cars, which include new engines, new aerodynamics and a smaller chassis, were “more fun” to drive following last month’s Barcelona shakedown.
That joy translated into Hamilton setting the fastest lap time across the five days of testing at the Spanish circuit.
During the shakedown, Hamilton said: “The car generation is actually a little bit more fun to drive.
“It’s oversteery and snappy and sliding, but it’s a little bit easier to catch and I would definitely say more enjoyable.”
However, 1996 world champion and ex-Sky Sports F1 pundit Hill has claimed the former McLaren and Mercedes star could quit the sport before his contract with the Scuderia expires at the end of the season.
Speaking as a guest on The Undercut podcast by The Race, Hill said: “If the motivation goes, if Lewis has another year like he has been having, like last year or the year before, I don’t see him seeing the end of the year out, because the joy of everything has gone out of it.
“He doesn’t need to sit in a car and deliver points for Ferrari if Charles Leclerc is winning or getting more than him.
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“He doesn’t need to be there.”
Hamilton goes into the 2026 season hoping for redemption and with one eye on a potential challenge for his elusive eighth world title.
A major change for Hamilton’s camp has already been revealed after he reportedly parted company with right-hand man Marc Haynes.
The pair had worked closely together since 2016, when Hamilton was still at Mercedes, with Haynes running Hamilton’s Project 44 management firm.
What is meant by shakedown and testing in F1?
F1 Insider Richard Hopkins exclusively breaks down what is meant by these terms.
Speaking to SunSport via popular online casinos in the USA, Hopkins said: “The phrase ‘shakedown’ really comes from the definition of the first time you run the car. It’s the first time of running.
“What we’ve become accustomed to now is that we don’t take too much notice of lap time or performance, or team remarks or driver remarks, because the teams are going there to do system checks.
“They want to make sure there are no water leaks, no oil leaks, and that all the systems on the car are running as they should.
“Maybe they’re just turning the cars up to eight rather than turning them up to 10. It’s funny, I’ve just watched Spinal Tap 2 on the plane on the way back, so in Spinal Tap terms, turning it up to 11.
“None of the teams went to Barcelona expecting they were going to have the opportunity to explore the performance envelope of the cars in this week.
“So we call it a shakedown, and certainly towards the media it’s a bit of a message to the media and all the fans not to read too much into it.
“We’re just running the cars for the first time and doing those systems checks.”
Can fans read much into these events?
“The reliability of the cars is key. You look at Red Bull. They turned up with a brand-new engine they’ve never made before.
“However, they’ve got a lot of skill and a lot of talent behind the scenes in designing, and they’ve been preparing for this moment for a number of years.
“There was an expectation they would hit the ground running, but with a brand-new powertrain married with the chassis and running predominantly for the first time, there were a lot of things that could potentially go wrong.
“Look at Mercedes. They just hit the ground running. Amazing reliability.
“I don’t doubt they probably did start turning it up and exploring that performance envelope as the week went on. But we still don’t know what fuel levels people were running.
“Ferrari… Lewis Hamilton finished fastest. But we all know they ran the car on the last day, in the last session, put some brand-new soft tyres on the car when the track was at its best.
“The ambient temperature and track temperature were perfect. Lewis had been driving the car, had quite a few miles under his belt already, and put in a good lap.
“Is that indicative of the season ahead? I wouldn’t read an awful lot into it, but the Ferrari looks pretty good.”
They previously parted ways in 2021 before Haynes returned to work with Hamilton again when he joined Ferrari last year, and was put in charge of his racing logistics.
But according to the Daily Mail, Haynes has taken up a role with new F1 team Cadillac, having departed team Hamilton for a second time “on friendly terms”.
Pre-season testing will get underway in Bahrain in February 11-13 and be followed by a second test there on February 18-20.
The first F1 race of the year will be in Melbourne, Australia, with the lights going out to start the season on March 8.
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