Had anyone predicted in Abu Dhabi in 2021 that, a few years later, Lewis Hamilton would be racing in Formula 1 for Ferrari under team principal Christian Horner, few would have taken that suggestion seriously. Even as of Baku 2026, though, there is little evidence that such a scenario is taking concrete shape.
In a recent interview Horner gave to The Times, he said he can comfortably afford never to work another day in his life. And yet, he still feels the urge to give Formula 1 another go.
So far, so familiar.
What is new — and what generated headlines during the Baku weekend — is that he would not necessarily return only as an investor. There is one team, Horner said, for which he would make an exception and even go back to being, in the traditional sense, an employee: Ferrari.
The prospect, purely theoretical for now, of having Horner, of all people, installed as his boss would create an unusual dynamic for Hamilton given their history. Even if, at this stage, there is probably little substance to the speculation.
The long-time Red Bull team principal is about to embark on a promotional tour for his new book, Drive, and a few high-profile stories linking him with Ferrari are a useful way of keeping his name in the conversation. It sells books and it sells tickets, regardless of Ferrari’s interest in hiring him.
Christian Horner, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: James Sutton / LAT Images via Getty Images
Hamilton, for his part, certainly does not appear to be interested.
When Sky Sports reporter Craig Slater pointed out on Saturday evening in Baku that Horner had effectively raised his hand and put himself in the frame for Ferrari, and asked Hamilton whether he still believed the team was on the right path under Vasseur, the answer was brief, but unequivocal: “Yes.”
The fact is that Ferrari has been in contact with Horner on several occasions in the past. In 2010, the idea was reportedly to lure him from Milton Keynes to Maranello as part of a package deal with Adrian Newey. And the carefully chosen wording of his The Times interview certainly suggests that he would clearly be interested should Ferrari ever decide to push the panic button and release Vasseur from his contract.
According to Sky Germany pundit Timo Glock, he believes the comments have put Vasseur in an unnecessarily awkward position: “Vasseur has brought Ferrari back to where they are now. He has brought structure and order into the team. To replace him now and start the next wave of upheaval would, strategically speaking, be completely wrong from Ferrari’s point of view.”
Even if Ferrari really were contemplating getting rid of Vasseur, why hand the reins to Horner of all people?
The 52-year-old would presumably cost a small fortune — at least by the standards of salaried employment — and he could hardly offer any guarantee of success either. Horner also remains a divisive figure following the allegations made against him during his final years at Red Bull. The boos that greeted him at the O2 Arena during Formula 1’s season-launch show in early 2025 showed that he remained a polarising figure among some fans.
Frederic Vasseur, Ferrari
Photo by: Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images
Vasseur has made clear that the speculation is becoming a distraction: “Mr Horner is looking for a job. That everybody knows. Everywhere.” And: “It’s not easy to work with this mood and this atmosphere and to have 25 times a day the same question. For me, for everybody in the team, it’s a lack of serenity.”
That is exactly what Vasseur and Ferrari should be given now. A public reaffirmation of Vasseur from Ferrari leadership would likely reduce the speculation. Perhaps John Elkann would be well advised to pick up the phone to La Gazzetta dello Sport to set the record straight; that would put a lid on this tiresome Horner story rather quickly.
I don’t believe Hamilton is currently losing any sleep over Horner, anyway. There are enough other reasons for that.
Whatever slim chance remained of somehow becoming world champion in 2026 is now largely mathematical. And while Ferrari may conceivably be capable, on the aerodynamic side, of building Formula 1’s best car before too long, closing the gap to Mercedes in the power unit department will probably take longer. Even Vasseur himself admits as much.
And plenty of things are going well for Hamilton.
In Barcelona, he proved that even on the other side of 40 he is still capable of winning grands prix. He sits third in the world championship, exactly 20 points ahead of his team-mate Charles Leclerc in fifth. His 2026 form has answered some of the criticism that followed his 2025 season.
And yet, in interviews, his public comments have nevertheless often remained frustrated despite the improved results.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Photo by: Andy Hone/ LAT Images via Getty Images
The pattern repeats itself from week to week: during races, Hamilton delivers radio messages that could quite reasonably be interpreted as irritated. Later, in front of TV cameras, he spends minutes talking about everything that went wrong, before adding almost as an afterthought that everything inside Ferrari is perfectly fine.
Then, one week later, at the next grand prix media day, he wonders how those journalists could possibly have misunderstood him so badly.
After Baku, he complained about Ferrari’s lack of top speed, mentioned a poor start — something Ferrari had been performing better in at the beginning of the season — saying the team must not lie to itself, and pointed out that McLaren and Red Bull had made greater progress. It had simply been “a pretty bad” race, he said. And on top of everything else, he could not get the tyres up to temperature. Already on Saturday, he had complained about “these stupid tyres”, calling them “such a pain in the arse”: “We’ve got to bring back some good tyres.”
Maybe it’s just me – but somehow, Hamilton and Ferrari does not yet feel like one of motorsport’s great love stories.
Hamilton, there can be no question, is one of Formula 1’s most successful drivers.
Will there be another championship for Hamilton? Can Ferrari give him a realistic chance of an eighth title? I remain sceptical.
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Photo by: Guido De Bortoli / LAT Images via Getty Images
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