Lewis Hamilton will lastly make his long-anticipated Ferrari debut at Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix.
Formula 1‘s greatest international celebrity, within the colors of its most iconic and mythologised group: it seems like a match made in racing heaven. Hamilton’s arrival in Maranello has been met with a wave of pleasure in Italy, the place Ferrari is greater than a group; it is a nationwide establishment, virtually akin to faith.
A victory straight out of the gate would ship the hype into overdrive, and historical past suggests it is not an outlandish risk. A few of Ferrari’s biggest drivers have completed simply that.
Juan Manuel Fangio (and Luigi Musso) | 1956
One in every of F1’s most iconic drivers, Fangio gained 5 world titles with 4 groups, together with Ferrari. There have been some parallels to Fangio’s transfer to Ferrari in 1956 with Hamilton’s this 12 months in that each joined from Mercedes.
Fangio’s entry right here comes with a quirk of racing in that period. He led early in his debut, at his house race in Argentina, however his automobile suffered mechanical points at mid distance. In these days, automobile swaps have been permitted and have been commonplace when involving a group’s lead driver. Fangio was the undisputed chief, so he took over Musso’s automobile and went on to win the race, that means that Fangio and Musso — who was additionally making his Ferrari debut after transferring from Maserati — shared the victory within the file books.
It could be Musso’s solely grand prix victory. Fangio went on to win the title earlier than transferring once more in 1957 and successful his fifth and remaining championship with Maserati.
Giancarlo Baghetti | 1961
One of many quirks of the F1 historical past books, Baghetti has exactly one victory to his title: the 1961 French Grand Prix, in a privately run Ferrari 156, again within the day when there was not a set entry listing. There must be an asterisk right here; as an impartial participant, Baghetti was racing for Federazione Italiana Scuderie Automobilistiche, however the automobile that crossed the road simply 0.1 second forward of American Dan Gurney’s Lotus was nonetheless a Ferrari.
Solely Giuseppe “Nino” Farina, who gained the first-ever world championship race in 1950, and Johnnie Parsons, who gained the Indy 500 when it was included on the season schedule, can boast an F1 collection win on their debut. Baghetti by no means got here near successful one other race.
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Hamilton appears to be like ahead to Ferrari debut at Australian GP
Lewis Hamilton says he’s trying ahead to his Ferrari debut on the Australian Grand Prix after profitable testing in Bahrain.
Mario Andretti | 1971
Talking of American drivers, few are as well-known as Andretti. The Italian-American introduced his arrival on the F1 scene with Italy’s most well-known group, successful the 1971 South African Grand Prix at Kyalami. There was a slice of fortune about it, with race chief Denny Hulme’s engine failing within the closing laps, however the profession that adopted was no fluke. It was the primary victory in an F1 profession that culminated with the 1978 championship with Lotus.
Nigel Mansell | 1989
Birmingham, England’s favorite son gave the most effective instance of how an prompt win with Ferrari can earn you legendary standing from day one. Mansell, who might proudly boast to be the final driver handpicked by Enzo Ferrari earlier than his demise, stormed to a win on the 1989 Brazilian Grand Prix on the Jacarepaguá circuit within the iconic John Barnard-designed Ferrari 640.
Mansell’s well-known dogged, take-no-prisoners method to racing, which regularly left the automobile trying prefer it was being pushed on the ragged edge, earned him fast respect from the tifosi. Mansell was shortly dubbed “Il Leone” (“The Lion”) for the best way he drove his Ferrari.
His debut win was additionally a major second in F1 historical past, the primary race victory in a automobile that includes a semiautomatic gearbox. The 640 was as modern because it was unreliable, and it had loads of unrealised potential; Mansell failed to complete seven occasions that season, however each time he did, he was on the rostrum.
Mansell was joined by Alain Prost the next 12 months — the Frenchman would win his second race — and was shortly overshadowed. Each drivers bitterly break up from Ferrari and went on to win championships within the early Nineties with the dominant Williams group. One of many nice Ferrari “what might have been” tales.
Kimi Räikkönen | 2007
The final man to win a drivers’ championship in a Ferrari, Räikkönen kicked off his maiden season in superb type. Not daunted by the strain of changing Michael Schumacher, who retired on the finish of 2006, “The Iceman” gained the Australian Grand Prix, beating reigning world champion Fernando Alonso and the Spaniard’s new teammate, younger Hamilton himself. The escalating inner drama at McLaren between Alonso and the rookie Hamilton would open the door for Räikkönen to grab the title away on the remaining race of the season in Brazil.
Räikkönen raced for Ferrari till leaving on the finish of 2009, solely to return in 2014. Räikkönen was far much less profitable in his second stint — returning in 2014, he must wait till the 2018 U.S. Grand Prix to style victory in crimson once more. Hamilton can be hoping to emulate the Finn’s first stint.
Fernando Alonso | 2010
Ferrari’s final first-time winner had reverse fortunes to Räikkönen. After two years within the wilderness again at Renault, Alonso stormed again to title rivalry with Ferrari. He set the tone for the season to come back with a powerful victory on the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Changing a former world champion in Räikkönen, Alonso gave the impression to be beginning a brand new title-winning period in crimson. It wasn’t to be, as desert circuits wouldn’t be so form to Ferrari later that 12 months. Arriving on the Abu Dhabi finale with the championship lead over Crimson Bull pair Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel, Alonso’s title probabilities slipped away after Ferrari made a calamitous technique name that handed the title to the latter. Alonso would by no means handle to recover from the road with the Italian marque.
What about Michael Schumacher?
Ferrari’s most iconic driver needed to wait till his seventh race for his first win, however he bought it completed in his first season. Schumacher’s drive to victory within the pouring rain on the 1996 Spanish Grand Prix — the place he repeatedly lapped upwards of three seconds faster than the next-quickest automobile — would possibly effectively be the best of his 91 wins, and it was the primary of many in crimson. Ferrari had suffered a brutal few years within the early- and mid-Nineties, however Schumacher’s arrival was the start of higher days. After heartbreak within the title deciders of 1997 and 1998 — and a damaged leg in 1999 — Schumacher lastly gained his first Ferrari title in 2000, the primary of 5 in a row.
Does everybody win of their debut season?
Not everybody will get it completed instantly, however most Ferrari drivers of the fashionable period have managed it of their first 12 months driving the crimson vehicles. Vettel did it in his second race with the group, his memorable win on the 2015 Malaysian Grand Prix. Rubens Barrichello gained in his eleventh race for Ferrari, the 2000 German Grand Prix, whereas Charles Leclerc needed to wait till race No. 13, successful the Belgian Grand Prix in 2019, earlier than successful at Monza for good measure the next weekend. Felipe Massa’s first win for Ferrari got here 14 races into his 2006 debut season.
The one driver of the present millennium who didn’t win in his Ferrari debut season is Carlos Sainz. The Spaniard had the misfortune of getting that landmark marketing campaign through the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, which noticed Ferrari tumble down the aggressive order after the very secretive settlement it came to with the FIA after coming into an engine in 2019 that many rivals believed was illegal. Ferrari didn’t win a single race in 2020 or 2021, however did so in 2022, when Sainz was in a position to declare his first F1 victory on the British Grand Prix.
So, no strain, Lewis, but when historical past is something to go by, the bar has been set sky-high.
