It’s understandable that comparisons will be drawn between Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher now that the 40-year-old racing legend is driving for Ferrari.
Lewis Hamilton is the only driver in Formula 1 history to have achieved more victories than Michael Schumacher and both drivers have seven world championships to their name.
The British driver will be hoping he can reach at least eight titles before he decides to retire but he joins Ferrari ahead of what could be one of the most competitive seasons in the sport’s history.
McLaren appear to be the favourites after pre-season testing, with Ferrari, Red Bull and Hamilton’s old team Mercedes all in the pack just behind them.
Given how much the grid has converged over the past few years, the team that’s on top is likely to be track-specific and the pecking order could come down to which driver performs best during each race weekend.
Performances like Carlos Sainz in Mexico City or Lando Norris at Zandvoort last season might be required for Hamilton to go on and win races in 2025, but the 40-year-old has proved throughout his career he’s more than capable of similar displays.
The paddock isn’t convinced Ferrari will be ahead of Mercedes this year, let alone McLaren after testing, but a lot can change over the coming months.
A report from the Daily Mail has shared more details about Hamilton’s demeanour behind the scenes in Bahrain and the differences between his time with Mercedes.
Lewis Hamilton ‘echoing’ Michael Schumacher during F1 testing with Ferrari
Hamilton was seen wearing Ferrari apparel during testing, something that wasn’t always the case when he was at Mercedes.
They would allow him to wear whatever clothes he liked more often than not, but Ferrari have always been stricter on this, with Charles Leclerc typically always wearing the team’s uniform.
Hamilton was trying to hide from photographers in the paddock, something he’s done for a long time in F1 as he prefers not to be caught unaware by those trying to snap pictures of him.
Unsurprisingly, he was the biggest draw during testing and when it was his turn to take part in a press conference, photographers waited at the door to get their shot of him.
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This was said to be ‘echoing the Michael Schumacher era’ at Ferrari, however, the paparazzi never got their prized photo.
Hamilton was late to arrive at the media event and so the photographers instead entered the conference thinking they had missed the seven-time world champion and he had snuck in another way.
That wasn’t the case, but Hamilton looked very positive throughout testing and while he may not have been driving the fastest car, was completely refreshed compared to the struggles he had faced during his final years at Mercedes.
Lewis Hamilton has a chance to break one Michael Schumacher record this season
Although Ferrari haven’t won a drivers’ championship since 2007, they’ve had some incredible drivers race for them during that time.
Felipe Massa was heartbreakingly denied his only title by Hamilton in 2008 and both Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel failed to add to their tally with the Scuderia.
Even Leclerc has finished second in the championship to Max Verstappen in recent years, but one thing the champions that have raced for Ferrari all have in common is how quickly they won their first Grand Prix for the team.
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Alonso won on his Ferrari debut in Bahrain in 2010, while Vettel won his second race for the team in Malaysia five years later.
Schumacher arrived at Ferrari having won back-to-back championships with Benetton but could only secure his first victory in his seventh race for the team in Spain.
It means Hamilton has six opportunities to beat Schumacher’s start to life with the Scuderia before chasing down the ultimate goal of being the only man with eight world championships to his name.
