JULY 3, 2026

Hamilton said to hold final say over Ferrari 2027 deal

Lewis Hamilton is increasingly expected to remain at Ferrari for 2027, although reports suggest the final decision could ultimately rest with the seven-time world champion himself.

Italian reports claim Ferrari is preparing to activate an option extending Hamilton's stay through the end of 2027, although no announcement is expected at Silverstone.

The deal is reportedly linked to Hamilton remaining among the top three in the championship before the summer break - a target he is currently meeting - but it is also claimed that only Hamilton himself could ultimately decide against continuing.

There is little sign that he intends to.

Speaking at Silverstone, the 41-year-old explained the reasons he feels far more settled than during his difficult 2025 campaign.

One being a car that I really have helped develop, Hamilton said.

"There's items on the car, for example front suspension, that I'd asked for last year and had it made for the sim and tested it on that. This year, finally got the brakes that I wanted, which was a big push.

"Engineer changes in my personal team, readjusting some of my team and how they connect with the team, realigning myself with the higher powers within the organisation so that we're making sure that we're on the same track and we're allies rather than foes.

So that's just now in a much better place, and that's enabling us now to just move forward in synergy.

Hamilton said that as Ferrari's performances improved, so too had the trust between himself and the team.

Each weekend was a really difficult weekend last year, he said.

"So naturally when you're having that, people tend to listen to you less.

'Why are we going to listen to you when you're getting these results?' So that's taken a long time to build that trust, and I think that trust is now there and things that I ask for get done.

Hamilton also said Ferrari is once again behaving like the Formula 1 benchmark he believes it should be.

To be back up competing in the front, from where we were last year, it's a remarkable turnaround for us as a team, he said.

"Every weekend we're bringing new parts, we're constantly evolving. Questions I had last year was, 'Where's the innovation?' Ferrari is the biggest and the most successful team in this sport.

"It should be the team that everyone's following. You've seen that this year with the rear wing, for example. What else do we have? Oh yeah, the exhaust element that now all the other teams have.

So I think that's been great, really great to see.

Hamilton's resurgence has also increased the pressure on teammate Charles Leclerc, who admitted he is still working to adapt to Ferrari's evolving package.

It's definitely not the level of performance I'm looking for, the Monegasque told Sky Italia.

"I arrived very early this morning and in the last few days I've basically just looked at the data. I have a bit of a headache, but I'm satisfied with the work done, and every time I've had a more difficult time on the track, the work has usually resolved it.

We've changed some pretty big things on the car, and I need to adapt quickly to that.

(GMM)