Former FIA steward Johnny Herbert believes that Ferrari should consider Carlos Sainz as a replacement for Lewis Hamilton, should the seven-time world champion opt to leave his multi-year contract prematurely. After a miserable weekend at the Hungarian Grand Prix, Hamilton suggested that Ferrari should “change driver”, sparking speculation about the legendary Brit’s future with the organisation.

With 10 races remaining in the 2025 campaign, the 40-year-old is 42 points behind team-mate Charles Leclerc and still without a podium finish. If Hamilton did call time on his F1 career at the end of the year, Ferrari would have an interesting decision to make regarding his replacement. While Haas’ Oliver Bearman is the standout option, Herbert believes that Fred Vasseur could look to an old friend to step in.

“When Hamilton said [things are going on behind the scenes], I’m not sure what that meant,” Herbert told Grosvenor Casino. “One way of reading it is that there has been talk already about changing the driver. Is that something that’s already been spoken about?

“And maybe it’s been mentioned if things don’t get better, you need to get yourself in a position where you’ve got the next driver ready for next year. Maybe they are both saying that if it doesn’t work, the time is here, the time has come.

“I don’t think it would be Verstappen. It could be one of the younger drivers, I guess. But I saw a little interview with Carlos Sainz, and he said when asked if he would go back to Ferrari, he replied, ‘Yeah, maybe!’

Carlos Sainz has endured a challenging year with Williams (Image: Getty)

“Carlos was doing an absolutely brilliant job and was really keeping Charles under control. He’s still young. He’s still doing a good job, even if he’s struggling with Williams a bit. But we know how good he was when he was at Ferrari.”