Familiar face tipped as Lewis Hamilton replacement at Ferrari

Ferrari should consider bringing back Carlos Sainz into the team should it split with Lewis Hamilton after this season, according to former Formula 1 driver Johnny Herbert.

Hamilton’s struggles at Ferrari have been the biggest talking point during the summer break, with the Hungarian Grand Prix at the start of the month marking his lowest point with the Scuderia.

After qualifying a distant 12th on a day his teammate Charles Leclerc stuck the SF-25 on pole, the seven-time world champion called himself “useless” and suggested that Ferrari needed to replace him with another driver.

When asked to clarify the comments after the race a day later, he made a cryptic remark: "When you have a feeling, you have a feeling. There's a lot going on in the background that is not great."

Hamilton has a multi-year contract with Ferrari - understood to run for two seasons with an option for a third - but there is growing speculation over whether the Briton would see out the deal if his form doesn’t improve in the second half of the year.

Lewis Hamilton replacement at Ferrari touted

If such a situation arises, Sky TV analyst Herbert believes Ferrari would be better off approaching current Williams driver Sainz, who won four races with the team between 2021 and 2024 before being dropped in favour of Hamilton this year.

“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 [Max] 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 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.”

Hamilton’s reaction after his Q2 exit in Hungary caused a stir, as the 40-year-old had never criticised himself so harshly in public before.

Herbert believes those remarks reflect the frustration that has built up over a difficult first half of the season with Ferrari, in which Hamilton failed to stand on the podium in a Sunday race.

"Lewis Hamilton's outburst? Lewis is very sincere when he speaks and doesn't spare any criticism of himself,” Herbert said.

"He's frustrated because he can't perform as well as he would like, or at least as well as when he was at the top of the category, but he's still having fun, and that's very important mentally because it means he's still motivated."