Lewis Hamilton at Le Mans? Why Ferrari outing is unlikely in F1 2025 and beyond

Could Lewis Hamilton race at Le Mans for Ferrari at some point?

Could Lewis Hamilton race for Ferrari in the Le Mans 24 Hours when he joins the Scuderia from Mercedes for the F1 2025 season?

Resurfaced comments from the seven-time World Champion have hinted that a Le Mans hypercar outing is highly unlikely.

Lewis Hamilton has no interest racing at Le Mans 24 Hours

Ferrari secured their second successive 24 Hours of Le Mans victory on Sunday, with the #50 car of Nicklas Nielsen, Antonio Fuoco and Miguel Molina taking the chequered flag in the World Endurance Championship’s signature event.

The winning crew pipped the leading Toyota car by 14.2 seconds in the closest finish at Le Mans since 2011, with last year’s winning Ferrari – driven by Antonio Giovinazzi, James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi – finishing third.

Hamilton announced in February that he will join Ferrari on a multi-year contract from F1 2025, ending his long and successful association with Mercedes.

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A clash between the Le Mans 24 Hours and F1’s Canadian Grand Prix means Hamilton is highly unlikely to make his endurance debut in 2025.

And the 39-year-old may never appear at Le Mans at all, having claimed back in October 2017 that he has “zero” passion to race in the classic race or the historic Indianapolis 500 in the USA.

He said: “I don’t have any desires to do any other racing.

“By the time l stop it could be 30 years [I’ve been racing non-stop]. Everything else is a step down the ladder.

“There is no other racing series that l have any desire to drive, which is a shame.

“I wish l had more passion to do an IndyCar or a Le Mans. But there is zero, there is nothing.

“I have more exciting things outside which l am passionate about.”

Hamilton’s stance is in sharp contrast to those of Fernando Alonso – who twice won Le Mans with Toyota, and participated in the Indy 500 and Dakar Rally, during a brief break from F1 – and Max Verstappen, who has frequently voiced his determination to race in other categories of motorsport.

Despite having respect for the stars of IndyCar, Hamilton has no plans to race in a different series when his F1 career ends.

He added: “I’ve always respected [the Indy 500] and appreciated it and I got to watch part of it when Fernando did it, which was super exciting. I love the idea of drivers being able to do more than one series.

“I have a huge amount of respect for those drivers; it’s quite scary when you approach those banks at the speed that they do.

“Obviously I get lots of opportunities to do those things, but I have no plans to go there and do anything serious.

“My whole life has been motor racing so it’s difficult to imagine it being out of my life I’ll obviously have more time to watch.

“I probably will attend more F1 races and attend more sports that l admire, like NBA for example.

“But in terms of racing, l don’t think l will do any racing.”

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