Lewis Hamilton has reignited chatter about an eighth world championship with his shock move to Ferrari in 2025. The current Mercedes driver sent the F1 world into a frenzy as he revealed he would be leaving the Silver Arrows after 11 years, a time in which he won six championships. And with Ferrari’s epic 1-2 finish at the Australian GP, experts have started to believe that Hamilton might be on course for a record-breaking eighth title.
According to Giancarlo Fisichella, the Briton has a very good chance of bagging an eighth title with the Italian outfit. Fisichella said (as quoted by Formula Passion), “He (Hamilton) has a good chance of winning an eighth title with Ferrari. It’s hard to say when, but I think he has a 30 or 40 percent chance of fighting for the championship.”
LAP 18/71
Hamilton hunts down the Force India of Fisichella for P5
He’s now back in position to win the title as things stand #Brazil08Flashback #F1 pic.twitter.com/ycu3ejkVSJ
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 2, 2018
Lewis Hamilton winning an F1 world title with Ferrari would be a legendary feat in the sport. The Tifosi haven’t tasted championship glory since the 2008 season, and Hamilton has not won a Grand Prix since the 2021 Saudi Arabian GP.
When it comes to the 2024 season, it has started off in the worst possible way for the #44 driver. In fact, in terms of pure numbers, the 2024 season is Hamilton’s worst start to a season since 2009, and his worst showing yet in the latest “ground-effect” era of the sport.
As things stand, Fisichella ranks the legendary Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher above Hamilton in his list of the greatest F1 drivers. However, the Italian did state that if the Briton does manage to clinch that eighth title with Ferrari, he would become “superior to Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna”.
What make Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher better than Lewis Hamilton?
Giancarlo Fisichella has raced against both Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton. And while growing up, he idolized Ayrton Senna. Hence, for the Italian racing driver, it was a no-brainer to rank his hero the highest. But while Fisichella has seen Hamilton up close, he was actually at the heart of Schumacher’s dominant era with Ferrari.
“In first place I put Ayrton Senna because he was my hero when I grew up, long before driving in Formula 1. In second place I would put Michael Schumacher because I raced against him and I know how good he was,” explained Fisichella.
Max Verstappen has 56 wins from 188 GPs
Where do other champions stack up?
Lewis Hamilton 53 wins
Ayrton Senna 41 wins
Alain Prost 45 wins
Sebastian Vettel 45 wins
Michael Schumacher 68 winsA very strong list of drivers here, all within a handful of wins, and then… pic.twitter.com/QlTXjplZHa
— Clapped (@F1Clapped) March 31, 2024
Currently, Hamilton and Schumacher sit equal in terms of being statistically the most successful F1 drivers in the history of the sport – with seven titles each to their names. However, Fisichella believes that the glory of getting Ferrari back to their winning ways and pipping Schumacher with an eighth title could tip the scales in the #44 driver’s balance in terms of his declaration for the GOAT of the sport.
