Lewis Hamilton joined the exclusive group of former world champions who have signed with Ferrari in an effort to revive the team’s championship-winning legacy. This article examines how the British driver’s performance at the 2025 summer break compares to other past world champions who made similar moves to Maranello.
Hamilton’s future in Formula 1 sparked speculation after his candid comments during the post-qualifying interviews at the Hungarian Grand Prix, where he referred to himself as ‘useless’ and implied that Ferrari might consider replacing him. However, Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur publicly disagreed with these remarks, attributing Hamilton’s failure to progress past Q2 in qualifying to issues with the car’s tyres rather than the driver’s performance.
The seven-time world champion began his tenure with Ferrari at the start of the 2025 season, following a highly successful 12-year stint with Mercedes. For the first time in his career, Hamilton is driving a car powered by an engine other than Mercedes, and this transition has presented significant challenges, hindering his progress throughout the season.
Despite a promising start in China, where Hamilton secured pole position and won the sprint race, he has yet to achieve a podium finish in any feature race during the 2025 campaign.
When comparing Lewis Hamilton’s statistics with those of his Ferrari teammate and previous world champions who joined the team, it is evident that Hamilton’s position heading into the summer break is sixth in the drivers’ championship, just behind teammate Charles Leclerc. This ranking marks the lowest championship standing of any reigning world champion in their first season with Ferrari. Nevertheless, many experts believe that Hamilton’s struggles stem largely from the car’s performance rather than his driving ability.
Motorsport analyst Alex Jacques, speaking on The Fast and Curious Podcast, suggested that Hamilton’s driving style has not yet aligned well with the current set of Formula 1 regulations, and he is likely eager to see if the 2026 regulation changes will allow him to better showcase his talents.
Hamilton is the sixth world champion to join Ferrari after winning titles with other teams. Since Kimi Räikkönen’s drivers’ championship win in 2007, Ferrari has not secured another drivers’ title, despite enlisting multiple former champions in recent years.
Charles Leclerc made his Ferrari debut in 2019, succeeding Kimi Räikkönen, who had clinched the team’s last drivers’ title in 2007. Before joining Ferrari, Leclerc had spent a single season at Alfa Romeo, where he finished 13th overall with ten points-scoring finishes.
Charles Leclerc’s rookie year with Ferrari produced consistently strong performances, with points scored in every Grand Prix except Monaco and Germany, where he retired. At the 2019 summer break, Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto expressed satisfaction with Leclerc’s progress, describing him as “surprisingly fast” and praising his productive collaboration with the engineers during only his second Formula 1 season.
Sebastian Vettel was the last world champion to join Ferrari before Hamilton, transferring to the Italian team in 2015 after winning four consecutive world championships with Red Bull from 2010 to 2013. By the midpoint of the 2015 season, Vettel was third in the drivers’ championship standings behind Mercedes rivals Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.
Ferrari had been winless since Fernando Alonso’s tenure ended in 2013, but Vettel quickly demonstrated his capabilities by winning the second race of the 2015 season in Malaysia, reaffirming his status as a race-winning driver.
Fernando Alonso, another former world champion, joined Ferrari in 2010 after a challenging period in his career. The Spanish driver had won two world titles with Renault in 2005 and 2006, followed by a single season at McLaren where he finished third overall. He then returned to Renault for two seasons without achieving any victories, ending the 2009 season in ninth place. Alonso’s move to Ferrari, initially planned for 2011, was brought forward to 2010 amid widespread media speculation.
Alonso started strongly with Ferrari, securing two wins in Bahrain and Germany, and adding three more podium finishes before the 2010 summer break.
Michael Schumacher made his move to Ferrari in 1996, following consecutive world championships in 1994 and 1995 with Benetton. Flavio Briatore, who had been instrumental in signing Schumacher for Benetton, expressed no surprise at the German driver’s decision to join Ferrari.
Schumacher’s first half-season with Ferrari was a mix of highs and lows; despite five retirements and one race he failed to start, he managed to finish on the podium four times. Notably, Schumacher is one of only two world champions—alongside Juan Manuel Fangio—to achieve both pole position and a race win during the first half of their maiden season with Ferrari.
Alain Prost joined Ferrari in 1990 in an effort to challenge his former McLaren teammate Ayrton Senna. The intense rivalry culminated in a dramatic conclusion to the 1989 season, where Senna initially appeared to claim the championship before being disqualified for a collision with Prost at the Japanese Grand Prix, which ultimately handed Prost the title.
In his debut season with Ferrari, Prost performed impressively, winning four races in the first half of the campaign, working alongside McLaren’s former designer John Barnard.
Juan Manuel Fangio joined Ferrari in 1956 after Mercedes withdrew from Formula 1 following a tragic accident at the 1955 Le Mans race. The Argentinian, already a three-time world champion, signed with Ferrari after the team acquired Lancia. This proved a successful move, as Fangio became the first world champion to join Ferrari and then secure another championship with the team.
At the halfway point of the brief 1956 season, which consisted of only eight races, Fangio had already won the opening race at his home Grand Prix and finished second in Monaco, demonstrating his immediate impact.
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