Schumacher, Alonso, Vettel: How Hamilton’s predecessors fared in their Ferrari debuts. Since 1996, Lewis Hamilton is the fourth driver already crowned world champion to be signed by Ferrari.

Waiting for Lewis
The 2025 Australian GP will mark the highly anticipated debut of Lewis Hamilton driving a Ferrari in an official race. After a lifetime as a rival, the 40-year-old champion from Stevenage will aim to make motorsport history by becoming the first driver ever to win eight career titles. Since 1996, when Michael Schumacher joined Ferrari, Hamilton becomes the fourth driver to be hired by the Prancing Horse after securing world titles elsewhere.

After Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel also arrived at Maranello in subsequent years, but only Schumacher hit the ultimate target. Kimi Raikkonen’s case was different; he joined Ferrari in 2007 and won his sole championship with the Maranello team, only to leave at the end of 2009 before returning for a second stint from 2014 to 2018. But how did the debut races of those who joined Ferrari as champions with the challenging task of replicating their past success fare?

Michael Schumacher – 1996 Australian GP, retired
Ironically, the only driver to not even see the checkered flag in their Ferrari debut was the one who would thrill Ferrari fans for years. Schumacher arrived at Maranello as the absolute reference point in Formula 1, with two titles won at Benetton in the previous two seasons. However, his first weekend was underwhelming: in Melbourne, the German was surprisingly outqualified by another Ferrari debutant, Eddie Irvine. Michael Schumacher started fourth, one spot behind his teammate—a position he would never occupy again that season. His race ended early, retiring on lap 32 while running third behind the untouchable Williams cars of Jacques Villeneuve and Damon Hill. Success, however, would come later in his debut season, with three victories at the wheel of the less-than-competitive F310.

Fernando Alonso – 2010 Bahrain GP, 1st
After Michael Schumacher’s era of triumphs and the Kimi Raikkonen years, Ferrari once again bet on an already accomplished driver: Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard’s time at Maranello would be as epic as it was unlucky, with two titles lost in the final race and a shared realization that he was never given a car worthy of his talent. However, his debut was extraordinary: Alonso won in Bahrain, leading a Ferrari one-two with Felipe Massa in second. Qualifying third, just behind Massa, the two-time champion benefited from reliability issues with Sebastian Vettel’s Red Bull, which finished fourth after leading for 33 of the race’s 49 laps. Alonso’s debut remains special—he is the last driver to win in his first Ferrari race.

Sebastian Vettel – 2015 Australian GP, 3rd
The last driver before Hamilton to join Ferrari with world titles in hand was Sebastian Vettel. The German came off a dominant 2010–2013 streak but also a disastrous 2014 season—his first winless campaign in the hybrid era. Like Alonso, Vettel would not clinch another championship at Ferrari, but his debut was promising. He finished third in the 2015 Australian GP, behind the dominant Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. His first win, however, came just two weeks later in Malaysia, proving his smooth adaptation to the team. Despite never winning the title in Ferrari colors, Vettel remains the third most successful driver in Ferrari history, with 14 wins and 55 podiums.