Lewis Hamilton Joins Ferrari in Bid to Secure……..read more
Lewis Hamilton has made a bold move to Ferrari with a singular goal in mind: securing his eighth Formula 1 world championship title. After becoming disillusioned with Mercedes’ struggles to adapt to the ground effects regulations, Hamilton has left the Brackley-based team and signed with Maranello. In a high-profile partnership, he will team up with Charles Leclerc, with the hope of dethroning Max Verstappen and reaching new heights in F1 history.
Hamilton’s arrival at Ferrari marks a historic moment as he becomes the 13th British driver to race for the Scuderia, joining an illustrious list that began with Peter Whitehead at the 1950 French Grand Prix. The most recent British driver to race for Ferrari was Ollie Bearman, who made his debut at the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Should Hamilton achieve his goal of winning a world title with Ferrari, he would not only claim his record-breaking eighth championship but also end a 17-year drought for the team in securing the drivers’ title. The last Ferrari driver to win the championship was Kimi Raikkonen in 2007, when he narrowly edged out both Hamilton and Fernando Alonso by a single point.
Hamilton’s potential success with Ferrari would make him the third British driver to claim a title for the team, following in the footsteps of two other British world champions: Mike Hawthorn and John Surtees. The story of Ferrari’s British champions is unique and etched in F1 history.
Mike Hawthorn was the first British driver to win a Formula 1 championship, securing the 1958 title despite only winning one race, while his rival, Stirling Moss, won four races that season. It was Moss’s act of sportsmanship in the Portuguese Grand Prix that ensured Hawthorn’s title win, allowing him to escape a disqualification that could have cost him the championship. Tragically, Hawthorn passed away in a road car accident shortly after retiring as world champion.
However, the most extraordinary British champion to race for Ferrari was John Surtees. Surtees made history as the only person ever to win world championships in both motorcycle racing and Formula 1. By 1964, after securing multiple motorcycle titles, Surtees was racing for Ferrari in F1. That year, he faced fierce competition from Graham Hill and Jim Clark in a dramatic three-way title showdown. Hill looked set to clinch the title until his car was spun out by a fellow driver, leaving Clark in a position to win. But fate took another turn when Clark’s car suffered a mechanical failure. With a dramatic final lap twist, Ferrari instructed its number two driver, Lorenzo Bandini, to allow Surtees to pass, giving him second place and securing the title.
Hamilton’s move to Ferrari places him in the unique position to join the ranks of these legendary British champions and rewrite history with a remarkable eighth championship win.
