After dropping out of qualifying before the pole position shootout for the second weekend running, Lewis Hamilton cut a distraught figure in the media pen. The seven-time world champion told his team to “change driver” after watching team-mate Charles Leclerc score the team’s first pole position of the season while he himself qualified 12th.
While Hamilton’s frustrated quip was not a serious suggestion to sever his two-year contract, Fred Vasseur and Ferrari will already be thinking about life beyond the legendary Brit’s career in Maranello, such is the nature of Formula One management. In this regard, Ferrari are well set for the future. Lost in the Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying melee was another impressive result for Oliver Bearman, who slotted his Haas into a P11 grid slot, one place ahead of Hamilton on the timing screen.
In fact, Bearman is looking to put an end to a run of four consecutive 11th-place finishes at the Hungaroring on Sunday. The 20-year-old Brit has been a perennial nearly-man in 2025, performing admirably but rarely getting the points that his drives have warranted. He can rest assured, though, that his rookie season is turning heads in the right places.
Bearman is the shining light of the Ferrari junior academy and, with Dino Beganovic failing to pull up trees in Formula Two and Formula Three championship leader Rafael Camara still in the early days of his career, the Brit is best-placed to succeed Hamilton at Maranello.
The Essex-born starlet has already made his thoughts clear on a future promotion to Ferrari, too. “Right now, I’m not thinking about Ferrari,” he told Autosport earlier this season.
“I feel I’ve got what it takes to drive for the team one day, but it’s up to me to prove it. I’m sure Ferrari believes in me – they’ve supported me this far and gave me the chance I have now. That’s what gets me out of bed every morning. I want to race in red. I want to win in red. That’s my main motivation.”
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While Bearman is undoubtedly a star of the future, Vasseur will be hoping that Hamilton can rediscover his mojo and return to the form that made him a force to be reckoned with during the turbo-hybrid era.
The seven-time world champion expressed his desire for a recharge during the summer break before a wheel was turned in Hungary, and the expectation is that he will improve throughout the campaign as he adapts to his new Ferrari machinery. For now, he will have to fight from 12th on the grid to salvage points on Sunday.