Lewis Hamilton has officially started his new adventure with Ferrari as he waves goodbye to Mercedes.
The 40-year-old joined the Silver Arrows in 2013 from McLaren in what was a highly controversial move at the time. Mercedes were not a title-winning team in the early 2010s – but Hamilton’s arrival changed everything.
The Brit went on to win six of his seven championships with the team between 2014-2020 and broke numerous F1 records, including the most wins, pole positions and podiums in the sport’s history.
Throughout his career, Hamilton has proven difficult to beat for his teammates. Up until the 2022 season, only Jenson Button (2011) and Nico Rosberg (2016) had beaten him in the standings.
Rosberg’s replacement Valtteri Bottas was unable to mount a serious challenge to Hamilton in his five years with the team from 2017-2021.
But after the Finn left the team for Sauber, Hamilton found himself struggling in comparison to his new teammate George Russell.
Peter Windsor says Lewis Hamilton lost his ability to be ‘self-critical’ when George Russell joined Mercedes
After losing the 2021 title to Max Verstappen in controversial fashion in Abu Dhabi, Hamilton began to struggle with his Mercedes machinery and its inconsistent nature.
Meanwhile, Russell scored his maiden win in Sao Paulo in 2022 and finished ahead of his teammate in the standings that year. Hamilton would find the edge over his fellow Brit in 2023, but 2024 was a dismal season for the seven-time champion.
Hamilton recorded the lowest finish of his career with seventh last season. Both Mercedes drivers won two races in 2024, but Russell comprehensively beat the fellow Brit in the teammate battle.
| Category | George Russell | Lewis Hamilton |
| 2024 points | 245 | 223 |
| Grand Prix results | 15 | 9 |
| Grand Prix qualifying | 18 | 6 |
| Grand Prix wins | 2 | 2 |
| Grand Prix poles | 4 | 0 |
| Grand Prix podiums | 4 | 5 |
| Best finish | 1st | 1st |
| Disqualifications | 1 | 0 |
| Retirements | 1 | 2 |
| Retirements (classified finish) | 1 | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 2 | 2 |
| Grand Prix points finishes | 21 | 21 |
| Sprint results | 5 | 1 |
| Sprint Qualifying | 5 | 1 |
| Sprint wins | 0 | 0 |
| Sprint poles | 0 | 0 |
| Sprint podiums | 1 | 1 |
Russell is the only driver to have beaten Hamilton as his teammate in more than one season. The difficult Mercedes machinery did not help matters, but Peter Windsor feels the 40-year-old lost the ability to be ‘self-critical’ when Russell joined the team.
“For Lewis it changed when Bottas was replaced by Russell. In a way it took away his ability to be as self-critical as he has been throughout his career,” he said via his YouTube channel.
“He started to relate everything to George rather than how he felt about the car. And that’s not a good thing really. I think at Ferrari he’ll be more of his own manager.”
Can Lewis Hamilton find his feet again at Ferrari?
Hamilton comes into the 2025 season on a poor run of form – and he will be desperately hoping his move to Ferrari will allow him to find his confidence again.
But the Brit will face a tough challenge. He is walking into a new team with a new language and will be up against Charles Leclerc – who is well-established with Ferrair and is one of the fastest drivers over one lap.
Hamilton made his first visit to the Ferrari factory in Maranello on Monday as he began his preparations ahead of 2025.
Ferrari are looking to integrate the 40-year-old into the team as smoothly as possible with little distraction. Hamilton is set for his first test this week at the team’s Fiorano Circuit.
The Brit will be on the back foot initially compared to teammate Leclerc. But if Ferrari can get him comfortable and if Hamilton can get his head down, the Monagasque driver may face some serious competition this season.
