Lewis Hamilton has split the F1 community after he announced his shock move to Ferrari in 2025. Some feel it is a match meant to be, while several others doubt the Briton’s compatibility with the Prancing Horse. This includes Sebastian Vettel’s brother, Fabian, as well. In an interview with Sky Germany, Fabian Vettel expressed his views on how Hamilton to Ferrari doesn’t really make sense to him.
As quoted by FormulaPassion, Fabian said, “Lewis’s personality and that of Scuderia Ferrari, as I experienced it as Seb’s first supporter, don’t go well at all.”
There is some substance to the four-time champion’s brother’s claim, as Hamilton has Mercedes’ philosophy ingrained in his mindset. So, it is still uncertain how will the 39-year-old adapt at Ferrari.
Fabian then also spoke about whether Sebastian Vettel would return to the sport now that the Silver Arrows have a vacancy. He cited, “I don’t doubt a certain possible desire and charm of a return, nor its capabilities, but I am skeptical. Sebastian left F1 for a reason, and 24 races a year seems like a lot to me.”
Certainly, Sebastian Vettel is enjoying his life after leaving F1 in 2022. The former Ferrari driver himself highlighted that he may not return to racing again. However, he may have given some tips to his friend and former rival Hamilton on his impending Ferrari switch.
Can Lewis Hamilton avoid Sebastian Vettel’s mistakes at Ferrari?
When Sebastian Vettel switched to Ferrari in 2015, he wished to emulate his idol Michael Schumacher’s championship success, donning the scarlet red overalls. After a run of four titles with Red Bull, he seemed in a great position in his career to get a fifth or even more at the Italian team.
Vettel had decent success at Ferrari, winning 14 Grands Prix, which is still the third-highest win tally behind Schumacher (72) and Niki Lauda (15). However, that elusive fifth championship remained out of the German’s reach, with two failed title campaigns in 2017 and 2018.
As things soured between Ferrari and Vettel in 2019-20, he felt alone with none of his past engineer compatriots and confidantes around him. The four-time champion had been a long-term Red Bull driver and had developed great relationships with the team there. However, he could not bring any of them to Maranello in 2015 due to contract terms.
This is something drivers need to be vary of, as engineers and trainers who act as confidantes can help them cope when things get tough in a new team. Lewis Hamilton can avoid this mistake if he takes people like Peter Bonnington (his race engineer) or Andrew Shovlin (Mercedes trackside engineering director) to Ferrari.
However, like Vettel, even the Briton is not contractually allowed to convince his team members to switch to Ferrari. However, this is possible if Ferrari approaches these engineers to switch teams. Many journalists like Roberto Chinchero have also stated that Hamilton coming to Ferrari may attract top-level engineers wanting to work for the team.
