Lewis Hamilton has a multi-year contract with Ferrari, although his first season in red has been a self-confessed ‘nightmare’.

Lewis Hamilton is enduring a tough maiden season with Ferrari (Image: Getty)

Lewis Hamilton could be shuffled into an ‘ambassadorial’ role to make room for Oliver Bearman, should the two drivers continue on their current trajectories, according to former F1 icon Juan Pablo Montoya.

Last weekend’s Brazilian Grand Prix was the latest lowlight in a difficult first season in red for Hamilton. The seven-time world champion was eliminated in 11th place in sprint qualifying and was only 13th-fastest in Saturday’s qualifying session. Then, after finishing seventh in the sprint, he crashed into Franco Colapinto and suffered a DNF on Sunday.

Speaking to the media after the chequered flag, Hamilton described the ups and downs of his first year with the Scuderia as a “nightmare”, and the Brit was indirectly criticised by Ferrari president John Elkann, who told both of his drivers to “focus on driving and talk less”.

At the same time, Bearman is thriving with Haas. The young Brit, who already made his Ferrari debut standing in for Carlos Sainz last year in Jeddah, finished a career-high fourth in Mexico City, and was sixth on the road in Sao Paulo after showing immense qualifying speed.

According to six-time Grand Prix winner Montoya, Bearman’s form could soon give Ferrari an unwanted headache. “The rookies are doing a really good job,” he told PokerStrategy. “It’s going to be like musical chairs with them, as teams will want to add them to their teams.

Oliver Bearman has been shining with Haas this season (Image: Getty)

“Ollie Bearman has done a very good job recently, it will be interesting to see what Ferrari decide to do with him. You have this young kid performing whilst Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton are not performing.

“They could push Hamilton to become an ambassador at Ferrari and pick Bearman to take his seat. Hamilton could then guide him to become even better. F1 can get political. Isack Hadjar is scoring points. It sucks for Gabriel Bortoleto; he’s been outperforming Nico Hulkenberg and was very excited to drive in his country’s race, then crashed twice. It’s probably going to hurt him mentally.”

Unfortunately for Bearman, Hamilton has no immediate plans to step aside. The 40-year-old is counting on the new cars in 2026 to suit his driving style more and afford him a path back into World Championship contention.

After Elkann’s public criticism, the legendary Brit even posted a defiant message of support for his team on Instagram. He wrote: “Brazil. Thank you for all the love, always. In the end, it wasn’t the race we wanted. It’s gutting, especially after some good progress, but we will move on. I back my team. I back myself. I will not give up. Not now, not then, not ever.”