Michael Schumacher was known for being a ruthless driver on the track while also galvanising a team off-track to back him over his teammate.
It was one of the reasons he could win seven titles, with Schumacher having denied Eddie Irvine a chance of winning the world championship in 1999.
Lewis Hamilton is the only other seven-time world champion to race for Ferrari, after joining the team in 2025 alongside Charles Leclerc. Former Hamilton teammate Nico Rosberg thinks Leclerc will beat the seven-time world champion in his first year, pointing to his form against George Russell in recent years.
The only other world champion this decade to race for Ferrari was Sebastian Vettel, whose quest to win a title was derailed by Hamilton at Mercedes. Vettel joined the team in 2015 with the ambition of emulating his hero Schumacher, even going as far as to copy certain attributes according to journalist Mark Hughes.
Sebastian Vettel told to stop ‘trying to run’ Ferrari
Vettel managed to win 13 Grands Prix out of his 53 victories in F1 during his five-year period at Ferrari, which was largely characterized by a disorganised team.
Senior management had made drastic changes to who ran the team, with former Philip Morris VP Maurizio Arrivabene taking the helm as team principal. While Schumacher’s leadership worked well under Luca di Montezemolo and Jean Todt, Vettel was told to take a different approach when he joined the team.
“Seb had every bit as focused an ambition as Alonso but an easier personality, and he took many of his cues in the way he worked from Schumacher. It might have worked. Except di Montezemolo was gone by the time Vettel arrived,” wrote Hughes.
“So he was never empowered in the way Luca had told him he would be. Instead he was told – by Maurizio Arrivabene, lieutenant to new corporate boss Sergio Marchionne – to stop trying to run the team and just drive.”
Will Lewis Hamilton faces similar career fates as Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel at Ferrari?
History dictates that Hamilton’s career at Ferrari will likely go the way of Fernando Alonso and Vettel; close to winning a title but just short.
Alonso came close on two occasions to winning the title before being denied by Vettel at Red Bull, whose title success was somewhat similar to how Max Verstappen currently dominates the field.
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Hamilton knows what it takes to win titles and will be expecting to win races early on in his partnership with Ferrari, although he faces tough competition up against rivals McLaren and Red Bull.
Peter Windsor thinks Leclerc has a chance of winning the title over Hamilton, given he is younger and has more history racing against Verstappen and Norris having come through the junior formula ranks with them.
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