OVERVIEW
Lewis Hamilton's move to Ferrari was the kind of transfer that transcends sport -- a seven-time World Champion, the most decorated driver in the history of Formula One, trading the silver of Mercedes for the scarlet of Maranello. It was a sentence that wrote itself, and the world leaned in to read it.
The 2025 season, his first in red, produced an average finish of 8.5 across 24 races -- respectable for a driver adapting to new machinery, new engineers, and a new philosophy, yet a far cry from the standards Hamilton himself has set over a career without parallel. His best result of fourth place came on multiple occasions, but the victory that Ferrari and its tifosi craved remained elusive. In 2024, his final Mercedes campaign, he managed a 7.0 average finish with two victories. In 2023, he posted 6.1.
The numbers tell a story of gradual adjustment. At 363 km/h for a top speed trap and 73 races in the dataset, Hamilton remains one of the fastest men alive. The question that lingers is whether the marriage of the greatest driver and the most storied team will yet produce the storybook ending both parties desire.
SEASON BY SEASON
2025 -- Ferrari (avg finish 8.5, 24 races) The year of reckoning at Maranello. Hamilton found himself navigating unfamiliar aerodynamic philosophies and a car that, while quick, was not yet shaped to his preferences. His average finish of 8.5 represented the highest of the three seasons in our dataset, with the disqualification in China and retirements in Singapore and Las Vegas further skewing the numbers. Yet there were encouraging signs: four fourth-place finishes suggested that on his day, the partnership could compete for podiums. He qualified 9.4 on average -- more than a second slower in relative terms than his Mercedes days.
2024 -- Mercedes (avg finish 7.0, 24 races) The farewell tour produced moments of vintage Hamilton. Two victories -- a reminder that the old fire still burned -- and a best average grid of 8.8. His 7.0 average finish represented a slight regression from 2023 but remained firmly in the points-paying positions.
2023 -- Mercedes (avg finish 6.1, 23 races) The strongest statistical season in our window. Hamilton averaged 6.1 at the finish, qualified 6.0 on average, and recorded a best result of second. The Mercedes W14 was not a championship contender, but Hamilton drove it as though it were.
DRIVING STYLE
Hamilton has always been a medium-tyre maestro, and the data confirms the legend. He has logged 1,868 laps on mediums versus 1,724 on hards -- the only driver among the frontrunners to favor the middle compound so decisively. He runs 578 laps on softs, a higher proportion than most, suggesting a willingness to attack when the strategy calls for it.
His top speed of 363 km/h ranks joint-highest in the field alongside Piastri, a testament to his ability to carry speed through straights regardless of the car beneath him. Hamilton's qualifying-to-finish gap has widened at Ferrari (9.4 average grid vs. 8.5 average finish), meaning he is now gaining positions on Sundays -- a reversal of his Mercedes pattern where he qualified higher and occasionally lost ground.
With 299 laps on intermediates, Hamilton remains one of the grid's supreme wet-weather drivers. Rain has always been his ally, and even at this late stage of a peerless career, a damp circuit remains his most dangerous weapon.