Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari will see him become the 12th British driver to race for the famous Italian marque in Formula 1; We take a closer look at some of the others who have made an impact for the iconic team
When Lewis Hamilton moves to Ferrari in 2025, he will become the 12th British driver to have raced for the iconic Italian marque in Formula 1.
The lure of the Prancing Horse is one which drivers of any nationality have found tough to ignore, not just because of the team’s history in the sport which stretches all the way back to the very first season of the world championship in 1950.
Fame, fortune, and the adulation of the Tifosi waits for any driver who can scale the top of the mountain driving those famous red cars – a challenge which many have attempted but only the very best have succeeded in.
Several British drivers are among those who have written their names in the history books with Ferrari, and we take a look at some of his compatriots seven-time world champion Hamilton will be aiming to emulate when he arrives at Maranello.
Although Peter Whitehead raced for Ferrari in 1950, the story of the Brits at Ferrari in F1 really begins with Mike Hawthorn and Peter Collins – the team-mates who become close friends but whose stories both had tragic endings.
Hawthorn, something of a larger-than-life character who would wear a bow tie while racing, initially drove for Ferrari from 1953 to 1955 – save for two races for Vanwall at the start of the last of those seasons – when he scored two Grand Prix wins and three other podium finishes.
He returned in 1957 after an unsuccessful season away and immediately struck up a friendship with Collins, brought in the previous year, to the extent that the pair agreed to split all prizemoney equally. Hawthorn would also later threaten to quit Ferrari if the team fired his compatriot following an incident at the 1958 Le Mans 24 Hours.
Had it not been for selflessly handing over his car to team leader Juan Manual Fangio at the 1956 Italian Grand Prix, Collins would have likely become Britain’s first F1 world champion. However, his career was tragically cut short at the age of 26, dying following an accident at the 1958 German Grand Prix.
Hawthorn would instead go on to become the first British F1 drivers’ champion that season and, at the time, the sport’s youngest world champion, but retired immediately still reeling from the death of his friend. Sadly, he too would be killed in a road accident in January the following year.
