Lewis Hamilton will race with Ferrari in the 2025 Formula 1 season. Ahead of Hamilton’s switch from Mercedes to the Scuderia, we take a look at some of the statistics behind Hamilton’s move!
Header image: © Andrew Balfour
Yesterday, I started writing an article about the 2024-25 Formula 1 Silly Season, analysing which drivers each team could acquire for the 2025 season. In it, I asserted that Mercedes “will not be partaking in Formula 1’s next Silly Season, with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell both confirmed at the team until the end of 2025”. Turns out I was wrong…
The news that Lewis Hamilton will be jumping ship from Mercedes to Ferrari is perhaps the biggest and most unexpected driver transfer since Hamilton himself made the decision to quit McLaren to move to Mercedes over a decade ago.
It’s a move which is sure to bring an added layer of excitement to the 2025 Formula 1 season, in which Lewis Hamilton will partner Charles Leclerc at the Scuderia. Should it be a successful move, Hamilton could find himself achieving a feat which only one driver before him has managed, almost 70 years ago…
Hamilton ends long-running Mercedes partnership
Lewis Hamilton’s decision to end his tenure at the Mercedes works team will bring to a close a 12-season, 246-race stay at the constructor – the longest and most successful driver and team pairing in Formula 1 history.
In fact, the first race of the 2025 season will be the first in Hamilton’s career in which he will not have a Mercedes-powered car underneath him. From his McLaren-Mercedes debut in 2007, to his switch to the Mercedes works team in 2013, Hamilton has always raced with Mercedes backing.
Hamilton has started 332 races with Mercedes engines to date. It’s a number which should pass 350 by the end of the 2024 season, far more than the next driver on the list was associated with their manufacturer (Kimi Raikkonen – 209 races with Ferrari power).
All of Hamilton’s record-breaking 103 wins, 104 poles and 197 podium finishes to date have been recorded with Mercedes power – again, far more than anyone else in those lists. He’s spoken in the past about emulating Stirling Moss and remaining associated with the German manufacturer for the rest of his life:
“I see myself being with Mercedes till my last days, to be honest. If you look at the legends, Sir Stirling Moss was with Mercedes till the end of days. So, that’s been the dream for me to one day have that… well I have that, so I mean just continue on with that and continue to build with the brand.”
Whatever the future holds, Lewis Hamilton’s part in Mercedes’ motorsport history cannot be understated. Hamilton is the latest driver to be pulled in by the Ferrari lure, like fellow champions Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso before him. With the statistics speaking for themselves, Hamilton has nothing left to prove in Formula 1 – so why not roll the dice and aim for further success with the sport’s most iconic team?
Hamilton will become Ferrari’s first British driver since Eddie Irvine in 1999, as well as the team’s first English driver since Nigel Mansell in 1990.
Drivers who drove at both Mercedes and Ferrari
In 2025, Lewis Hamilton will join a short list of drivers who’ve driven for both Mercedes and Ferrari in Formula 1. The most recent example is Michael Schumacher, who came out of retirement four years on from quitting Ferrari to join the Mercedes works team on their return to the sport after a 55-year absence.
There are only three other drivers who drove with both Mercedes and Ferrari – and they all did so in F1’s formative years. Andre Simon was first to do so, driving with Ferrari twice in the 1952 season before making a one-off appearance with Mercedes at the 1955 Monaco Grand Prix. Piero Taruffi raced with Ferrari for most of his Formula 1 career before making two appearances with Mercedes at the 1955 British and Italian Grands Prix.
Juan Manuel Fangio competed in the 1954 and 1955 seasons with Mercedes before switching to Ferrari when the German manufacturer quit the sport ahead of the 1956 season.
The unique Fangio record that Lewis Hamilton could match in 2025
Ahead of Lewis Hamilton’s arrival at Ferrari in 2025, Juan Manuel Fangio is the only driver to have won with both Mercedes and Ferrari in Formula 1. The Argentine driver took eight Grand Prix victories with Mercedes and secured seven wins with Ferrari.
Fangio is also the only driver who won a title with both Mercedes and Ferrari during his Formula 1 career. After winning the 1954 and 1955 titles with Mercedes, Fangio secured the 1956 honours with Ferrari. Impressively, Fangio also won titles with Alfa Romeo and Maserati during his career, making him the only F1 driver in history to have won the title with more than two different teams.
With Hamilton having won his first title with McLaren in 2008 and another six since with Mercedes, a title with Ferrari would not only see him join Fangio as the second driver to have won the title with both iconic brands, but would also make him a member of the very exclusive club of drivers, currently made up of only Fangio, who’ve won the title with more than two teams.
Ferrari’s oldest driver in over 40 years
Lewis Hamilton will celebrate his 40th birthday in January 2025, meaning that he will be in his 40s when he begins his Ferrari career. The last driver over the age of 40 to race for Ferrari was Mario Andretti, who made his last appearance with the team at the age of 42 in the 1982 Caesars Palace Grand Prix.
The last time a driver won a Grand Prix with Ferrari over the age of 40 was almost 70 years ago, when Juan Manuel Fangio won the 1956 Argentine Grand Prix at the age of 44 years, 6 months and 29 days. Other drivers who’ve won with Ferrari over the age of 40 are Giuseppe Farina (at the age of 46 in the 1953 German Grand Prix) and Piero Taruffi (at the age of 45 in the 1952 Swiss Grand Prix).
The next oldest driver to win with Ferrari is Kimi Raikkonen, who took the final victory of his career with the Scuderia at the 2018 United States Grand Prix, just four days after his 39th birthday.