Lewis Hamilton joins Ferrari in 2025 for what will be one of the most anticipated story arcs of the season, as it sees the most successful driver in one of the most successful teams in Formula 1.
It was nearly a year ago that Hamilton announced he would be exercising an option in his Mercedes contract to leave the team early, despite signing an extension midway through 2023.
Mercedes’ form over the last three years has been sporadic after the team went with a radical zero sidepod concept at the start of 2022, only for it to be the wrong gamble that would impact the next two years.
Hamilton grew frustrated with their progress behind the scenes, especially after the team failed to win a race in 2023. The seven-time World Champion decided to jump ship, signing a multi-year deal with the famous Maranello-based team.
As Hamilton goes for his eighth title, he will achieve a feat that only three previous World Champions including Juan Manuel Fangio have ever managed in their careers.
Lewis Hamilton could become first driver since Jack Brabham to win title at 40 years old
Hamilton celebrated his 40th birthday on 7th January, marking him one of the oldest drivers on the current grid along with 43-year-old Fernando Alonso.
Only three previous world champions in the history of F1 have ever managed to win a title past the age of 40, which shows how difficult a feat it will be for the Briton.
| Driver | Age |
| Juan Manuel Fangio | 40 years 5 months 4 days |
| Jack Brabham | 40 years 5 months 2 days |
| Juan Manuel Fangio | 43 years 1 month 29 days |
| Giuseppe Farina | 43 years 10 months 4 days |
| Juan Manuel Fangio | 44 years and 22 days |
| Juan Manuel Fangio | 45 years 2 months 9 days |
| Juan Manuel Fangio | 46 years 1 month 11 days |
F1’s first world champion, Giuseppe Farina was the first to achieve the feat in 1950 at 43 years old and 10 months. Fangio managed to win all five of his titles past the age of 40 years, with his final title in 1957 coming at the remarkable age of 46 years-old.
The last driver to achieve the feat was Jack Brabham, who won the 1966 title at 40 years old and five months.
Lewis Hamilton’s race engineer at Ferrari confirmed
Hamilton will have access to Enzo Ferrari’s old house at Maranello and is set to take part in a test in a 2022-spec car at the end of January.
He will also have access to the right-hand side of the garage on race weekends, which is where he was situated while at Mercedes.
READ MORE: Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton’s life outside F1 from net worth to family
Hamilton is set to get the same engineering team as Sebastian Vettel in the form of Riccardo Adami, who was the race engineer for the German for the six years he was at the team.
Anthony Davidson is hopeful that Hamilton can recapture his ‘magic’ while at Ferrari, which brought him title success at the Silver Arrows.
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