Guenther Steiner: At some stage Hamilton will say he’s had enough, and Bearman is ready for Ferrari

Ferrari’s difficult start to the 2026 season has intensified scrutiny around Hamilton’s long term future after another underwhelming weekend at the Miami Grand Prix. The pressure has only grown following recent comments from Ralf Schumacher suggesting Hamilton should consider retirement.

Steiner believes the seven-time Formula world champion still has the speed and motivation to compete, but warned the decisive factor will be whether Ferrari can realistically fight for the Drivers’ Championship.

“It’s a difficult one,” Steiner told Casino.org media team. “I think he’s doing pretty good this season. But I must say last year was very difficult for him. It was difficult for Ferrari as well. There was a lot of pressure bringing Hamilton in, the GOAT in, and he was not performing.”

“This year it seems he has started the season a lot better. But I think the question of how long he stays in Formula 1 depends on how much success he wants to have, because he doesn’t have to prove anything to anybody anymore. He only wants to prove to himself that he can still do it.”

Steiner believes Hamilton’s decision will ultimately come down to Ferrari’s competitiveness: “At some stage he will say he’s had enough of this, but I think when he realizes that he cannot win the 8th world championship in a Ferrari, that is when he will say, ‘I want to stop’ and that’s when a seat will open up for Bearman.”

Steiner suggested Ferrari junior Oliver Bearman is already positioning himself as Hamilton’s eventual successor, with the Italian team continuing to closely monitor the young Briton’s progress at Haas.

“I think Oliver now is ready to go to a team where he can win races or at least go to the podium,” Steiner explained. “He is very young though and we can’t forget that. So, he will need to be patient. Maybe Ferrari has said ‘hey, in two years you will be sitting in a Ferrari’, I don’t know, so for that he must stay patient.”

The former Haas boss hinted Bearman’s Ferrari backing likely includes clauses allowing him to leave Haas for a top team opportunity: “He will likely have some clauses in his contract with Ferrari that, should an offer come along for one of the leading teams, that he can leave Haas and go there, because that’s his next move.

“He’s had his learning with Haas, he had good results last year with Haas, he will have good results this year, but then you need to move on if you want to go to the podium. If you can do it as a driver, you need to have the machine to do that as well, and now, I think that is not where he is.”

Steiner added: “I don’t know exactly what his Ferrari contract says, but obviously it would be good for him if he ends up at Ferrari. And it would be good for Ferrari because they have supported him for a long time, and they could have one of their own in their car, like with Charles Leclerc.”

For now, Hamilton remains committed to Ferrari’s long term project, but Steiner’s assessment underlines the growing pressure surrounding Maranello’s future direction, with Bearman emerging as the leading internal candidate, while Verstappen’s future continues to hover over the Formula 1 driver market.