Lewis Hamilton tipped to leave Ferrari immediately if Italian media reports come true

Ferrari have been warned that they risk losing Lewis Hamilton less than a year after courting him away from Mercedes. The seven-time world champion has spoken openly about his struggles during a first season with the team that so far has been without a single podium for the 40-year-old.

Hamilton has called on Ferrari to abandon progress on their current car and instead start prioritising next season, despite a fourth-placed finish at the most recent British Grand Prix. Though, according to Italian media, there could be waves of change at Maranello before the 2026 campaign.

Current team principal Fred Vasseur is under pressure after failing to put Hamilton and Charles Leclerc in cars capable of competing with McLaren. Several outlets, including leading newspaper Corriere della Sera, suggested that Vasseur is on thin ice.

La Gazzetta dello Sport also claimed that the arrival of technical director Loic Serra, who followed Hamilton from Mercedes, has not met expectations and could follow Vasseur in leaving the team.

There have been strong suggestions that both could leave in a major shake-up, with Christian Horner potentially set to lead a rebuild after his Red Bull sacking.

Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko revealed that Horner was close to joining Ferrari in late 2022 before he intervened, with chairman John Elkann a big admirer of the axed team boss.

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But Will Buxton, former F1TV host and current lead FOX IndyCar commentator, believes that Horner to Ferrari risks pushing Hamilton out the door.

"If they replaced Fred with Christian Horner, I don't think Lewis would be a Ferrari driver for much longer," he said on The Sports Agents podcast.

He also added that Alpine would be a more realistic landing spot for Horner, considering the Brit's close relationship with team supremo Flavio Briatore.

Horner to Ferrari has been branded as unlikely, potentially for those reasons outlined, after Hamilton accused the former Red Bull man of "stirring things" amid rumours that Hamilton could join Max Verstappen at Milton Keynes.

"I don't really know where that story has come from. I mean I know it's come from Christian," Hamilton told Sky Sports while he was still at Mercedes. "I don't really understand what he's been talking about because no one, as far as I'm aware, from my team has spoken to him. I haven't spoken to Christian really in years.

"However, he did reach out to me earlier on in the year about meeting up, but that's it. I just congratulated them on an amazing year and said: 'Hopefully soon, I'll be able to fight against you guys in the near future.' That was it. So I'm not really sure, I think he's just stirring things.

"[I am not surprised people] drop my name in many conversations because they know it's gonna make waves and if you're a little bit lonely and don't get much attention, it's the perfect thing to do."