5 Key Factors to Know About Lewis Hamilton's Move to Ferrari

01/02/2025 01:11 PM

A move to remember: Lewis Hamilton joining Ferrari. The seven-time world champion has left Mercedes after 12 years of partnership, marked by glorious successes. Soon, the English driver will debut at Fiorano with a private test, preceding his first official appearance with the Scuderia on February 19. On that day, he will take to the track with Charles Leclerc, driving the 2025 car. Regarding this historic transfer, it is worth analyzing five key factors.

First and foremost, the stature of the champion: Lewis Hamilton follows in the footsteps of drivers like Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel, who attempted to claim the championship during their time at Maranello. Both came close in different circumstances but ultimately fell short. Will Hamilton succeed? We will find out in a few months. For now, we can note that the three drivers who dominated F1 from the end of Michael Schumacher’s era in 2005 to the rise of Max Verstappen in 2021 (Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel, and Lewis Hamilton) have all been part of Ferrari.

Another significant fact is that the former Mercedes driver will be the thirteenth Briton to join Ferrari. When his announcement was made on February 1, 2024, he was set to be the twelfth, but Oliver Bearman debuted at Jeddah, replacing Carlos Sainz, and preceded him.

Next is the successful partnership with Fred Vasseur. Lewis Hamilton has a long-standing relationship with Ferrari’s boss, dating back to his junior days. In 2006, Fred Vasseur, then with ART Grand Prix in GP2 (now F2), had McLaren’s protege in his team. Lewis Hamilton went on to become the second GP2 champion after Nico Rosberg in 2005. ART was a powerhouse in GP2, producing champions like Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton, Nico Hulkenberg (2009), Stoffel Vandoorne (2015), George Russell (2018), Nyck de Vries (2019), and Theo Pourchaire (2023). Perhaps this rekindled partnership could lead to historic success.

Finally, an important milestone is his debut as a Ferrari driver: this will take place at the Australian Grand Prix on March 16, with the first practice session on March 14. Pre-season testing will be held in Bahrain from February 26 to 28. Hamilton will also attend the official launch of the new car on February 19 at Fiorano, a day after the launch event in London. Before then, he is expected to conduct a test on the 2023 Ferrari at Fiorano as part of the previous car testing program, scheduled for January 21-22.

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