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5 Ferrari moves that paid off – and 5 that didn’t – as Hamilton embarks on his new chapter
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Lewis Hamilton will follow in the footsteps of many illustrious names by making his debut for Ferrari this season, with the Briton having left Mercedes for the Scuderia in what marked one of the most sensational – and unexpected – driver moves in the sport’s history.
Given that both parties have experienced glittering success in their respective careers – with seven-time title winner Hamilton the breaker of many records in F1, while Ferrari are the most victorious team across the championship’s nearly 75 years – it will be fascinating to see what they can achieve as they embark on a new chapter together.
Ahead of Hamilton making his debut for the Italian outfit, we’ve taken a look back at five Ferrari moves that paid off – along with five that didn’t…
5 Ferrari moves that paid off
Michael Schumacher from Benetton, 1996
Perhaps the most notable example of a Ferrari move that proved successful was Michael Schumacher’s decision to join the team for the 1996 season; a bold call at the time, given that the German had taken back-to-back titles in 1994 and 1995 with Benetton while the Scuderia had been struggling to recapture their past level of success.
Their first seasons together posed plenty of challenges – including Schumacher’s disqualification from the 1997 championship, and a broken leg that put him out of the title fight in 1999 – but it all came together in 2000, when Schumacher gave the team their first drivers’ crown since 1979.
In the 2000 season, Schumacher gave Ferrari their first Drivers' Championship since 1979
This kickstarted a remarkable run for the seemingly unstoppable partnership, with Schumacher and Ferrari going on to seal each subsequent championships through to 2004 – Schumacher still holding the record for the most consecutive title victories at five in that sequence.
While the dominance was eventually stopped by Fernando Alonso and Renault, Schumacher had well and truly etched his name into the history books as the sport’s first seven-time World Champion.
Kimi Raikkonen from McLaren, 2007
When Schumacher opted to retire from Formula 1 at the end of the 2006 campaign, Ferrari signed Kimi Raikkonen from McLaren as his replacement. The highly-rated Finn had already notched up nine victories since making his debut in the sport back in 2001, but had experienced a winless year in 2006.
That was soon corrected in his first race for the Scuderia, with Raikkonen triumphing at the 2007 season opener in Australia. What followed was a closely-fought campaign in which the Finnish driver battled for the championship alongside team mate Felipe Massa and the McLaren pair of Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton.
While Hamilton led the standings late into the season, an error from the Briton at the penultimate race in China – along with back-to-back victories for Raikkonen in the final two events – saw the driver known as ‘the Iceman’ clinch the title by just one point.
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Raikkonen did not manage to repeat this feat during what would prove to be two stints at Ferrari during his extensive F1 career, but he remains the last man to date to win a Drivers’ Championship for the team.
Niki Lauda from BRM, 1974
Despite struggling to showcase his talents for March and BRM during the early 1970s, Niki Lauda had done enough to pique the interest of Enzo Ferrari – and subsequently joined the Italian team in 1973.
The Austrian quickly repaid the team’s faith in him by winning in his fourth outing for the squad in Spain, while another victory followed at Zandvoort. From there things improved further for Lauda and Ferrari, with the partnership claiming both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ titles in 1975.
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It was in 1976 that Lauda suffered a horrifying accident at the Nurburgring that left him with severe burns and several broken bones – before incredibly making his comeback to racing just six weeks later in a season where he still finished P2 in the championship.
After withdrawing from that year's finale in Japan – having deemed the torrential rain too dangerous to race in – Lauda seemed intent on winning the 1977 title. He did so with two Grands Prix to spare, leading him to sit these races out and walk away from Ferrari following their four years together.
Lauda claimed his second title for Ferrari in 1977
Jody Scheckter from Wolf, 1979
The first few years of Jody Scheckter’s F1 career were not without controversy, the South African driver having attracted scrutiny for causing crashes including a huge accident at the 1973 British Grand Prix. This particular incident led to his then-team McLaren opting to 'rest' him for four races.
However, during his three subsequent seasons with Tyrell, Scheckter ironed out the kinks and became a race winner. A two-year stint at Wolf followed before he signed to Ferrari in 1979.
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In his first season for the Italian outfit, Scheckter formed a strong partnership with team mate Gilles Villeneuve and each driver claimed three wins apiece – but it was Scheckter who scored four more points, making him the Drivers’ World Champion.
That teamwork also saw Ferrari claim the Constructors’ crown but, after the 1980 season failed to match that success, Scheckter chose to retire from the sport at the end of that year. He remained Ferrari’s last Drivers’ Champion until Schumacher in 2000.
Scheckter clinched the World Championship during his first season with Ferrari
Jose Froilan Gonzalez from Maserati, 1951
The name of Jose Froilan Gonzalez may not be one of the most recognisable in comparison to other icons from the sport’s past – having only participated in 26 Grands Prix – but the Argentinian driver is an incredibly important figure in Ferrari’s history.
After making his debut for Maserati at two races during Formula 1’s first championship year in 1950 – recording a DNF in both Grands Prix – Gonzalez first got behind the wheel for the Scuderia at the 1951 French Grand Prix, in which he finished in P2 as part of a shared drive with Alberto Ascari.
READ MORE: Six racers who won their maiden F1 titles alongside champion team mates
At the next event, the British Grand Prix, Gonzalez went one better by taking victory – marking Ferrari’s first-ever win in F1. To make the honour even more distinguished, he beat the man that would go on to claim that year’s World Championship, Juan Manuel Fangio, to the win.
While he went winless during a subsequent return to Maserati, Gonzalez again raced for Ferrari in 1954 where he enjoyed a second triumph at Silverstone. In the same year, the driver known as ‘the Pampas bull’ to British fans was also victorious for the Scuderia in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, while his last Formula 1 race for the Italian outfit came in 1960 before his retirement.
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5 Ferrari moves that didn’t pay off
Nigel Mansell from Williams, 1989
When the aforementioned Kimi Raikkonen won in his opening race for Ferrari in 2007, he became the first driver to win on their debut for the team since Nigel Mansell – but while Raikkonen went on to World Championship success with the squad, the same did not materialise for Mansell.
During a four-year stint at Williams between 1985 and 1988, Mansell had twice finished second in the fight for the drivers’ title. But when an uncompetitive car saw him end the 1988 campaign down in ninth, the Briton took the opportunity to switch to Ferrari for 1989.
Winning on his debut for the Scuderia in Rio got things off to a good start and Mansell became popular with the team’s adoring Tifosi, who gave him the nickname 'Il Leone' (The Lion). Yet while another victory followed in Hungary, the partnership started to sour in 1990.
A tough season – coupled with a difficult relationship with new team mate Alain Prost – saw Mansell announce his retirement from the sport altogether at Silverstone. While he later had a change of heart, the British driver’s time with Ferrari was very much over and he returned to Williams in 1991.
Mansell's two-year spell with Ferrari did not bring the success he had hoped for
Alain Prost from McLaren, 1990
As was touched on, Alain Prost arrived at Ferrari in 1990, the Frenchman making the move off the back of a controversial collision with McLaren team mate Ayrton Senna in the 1989 season finale at Suzuka.
While Prost won the title on that occasion, a repeat showdown at the same venue in 1990 saw Senna take the crown after driving into his rival’s Ferrari. “What he did was disgusting,” Prost commented on the incident.
Any hopes Prost had of again taking the fight to Senna in 1991 were dented by the Scuderia’s sudden drop-off in pace, resulting in the season becoming the French driver's first in which he failed to win a race.
Prost was publicly critical of the team amidst their struggles – leading Ferrari to promptly fire the World Champion with one race remaining. It marked a bitter end to the partnership and forced Prost to take a sabbatical in 1992 – before returning to win a fourth and final title with Williams in 1993.
Greatest Comebacks: Alain Prost
Sebastian Vettel from Red Bull, 2015
Prost is not the only driver to arrive at Ferrari as an already decorated World Champion. Sebastian Vettel had enjoyed a history-making run with Red Bull that saw him clinch consecutive titles between 2010 and 2013, but a challenging campaign in 2014 led him to make the switch to Ferrari for 2015.
It was a move that initially hinted at a promising future, with Vettel winning in only his second race as a Scuderia driver in Malaysia. Mercedes had the upper hand, however, as the season progressed.
The 2017 and 2018 seasons saw Vettel and Ferrari put themselves into contention for championship success – but, again, the driver and team lost out to Lewis Hamilton and the Silver Arrows as mistakes crept in. Vettel’s crash out of the lead at Hockenheim in 2018 was a particularly tough error for the German to recover from.
After new team mate Charles Leclerc got the better of him in 2019, Ferrari decided before the 2020 campaign had even started that Vettel would be replaced by Carlos Sainz in 2021. The four-time champion later said that he had “failed” in his time with the team, given that his goal of winning the World Championship was never realised.
Vettel won in only his second race for Ferrari, but ultimately failed in his goal to win the World Championship with the team
Fernando Alonso from Renault, 2010
In some respects, the story of Fernando Alonso’s tenure at Ferrari bears similarities to Vettel’s. The Spaniard – a two-time champion with Renault in 2005 and 2006 – was quick to make his mark at the Scuderia, winning on his debut for the squad at the 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix.
A further four victories followed in that season, and Alonso’s P2 finish in the championship hinted at more to come. The Italian outfit slipped backwards in 2011, however, before Alonso came agonisingly close to clinching a long-awaited third title in 2012, just missing out to Vettel by three points.
Another second place followed in 2013 – with Alonso proving the closest match to the dominant Vettel – but 2014 saw Ferrari experience a dramatic drop-off in form amid the introduction of new turbo-hybrid regulations, resulting in Alonso failing to win a race and ending the year down in sixth place.
Despite his previous short-lived stint with McLaren ending acrimoniously in 2007, Alonso decided to return to the Woking outfit in 2015. While his time with Ferrari undoubtedly added to the Spanish driver’s reputation as one of the strongest drivers in the field, the stars never aligned in terms of experiencing championship success.
Top 10: Moments of Fernando Alonso Brilliance
Giancarlo Fisichella from Force India, 2009
After Felipe Massa was struck on the helmet by a spring that had detached from the rear suspension of Rubens Barrichello’s Brawn in a freak accident during Qualifying for the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix, the Brazilian underwent emergency surgery on what were potentially life-threatening injuries.
As Massa embarked on his recovery – before eventually returning to action in 2010 – Ferrari initially called on Luca Badoer as a substitute. But after the long-time test driver struggled during his two race appearances, the squad then brought in Giancarlo Fisichella from Force India to complete the campaign.
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This was something of a romantic move for Fisichella, the Italian becoming one of the few to race for his home country’s most famous team. But the switch failed to pay off results-wise, with the three-time race winner’s strongest finish being a P9 on his debut for the outfit at Monza.
A disappointing outing at the season finale in Abu Dhabi – in which he served a drive-through penalty and crossed the line down in 16th place – would ultimately prove to be Fisichella’s final race in F1, though the Rome native remained as the team’s reserve driver in 2010.
Fisichella raced for Ferrari during the final five Grands Prix of the 2009 season
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