LEWIS HAMILTON’S stunning transfer to Ferrari has shocked the world of Formula One.
Motorsport fans around the globe will remember February 1 as the date Hamilton officially cut ties with Mercedes following a 26-year association.
Seven world drivers titles, 103 race wins, 104 podiums and a legion of other records to boot. To say his career backed by Mercedes power has been a success would be an understatement.
Having signed a £100million contract with Mercedes in summer 2023, Hamilton then used a break clause in his deal to seal his switch to Ferrari.
Hamilton will drive for the Scuderia from 2025 after signing a “multi-year contract” worth £100m.
His goal with the Italian constructor will no doubt be to win a historic eighth title if he cannot manage it in his final season with the Silver Arrows.
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However, Hamilton is not the only Brit to have driven in the scarlet red of the Prancing Horse.
That being said, if he is to win Ferrari’s first driver title since Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 he will be fighting against history stretching back 60 YEARS.
But who are Hamilton’s predecessors?
Below we take a look at the 11 previous drivers to have got behind the wheel at Ferrari.
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Peter Whitehead
Peter Whitehead raced for Ferrari at the birth of F1 in 1950.
An amateur pre-war racer and RAF pilot, Whitehead raced in 12 F1 races, achieving one podium before he left the sport in 1954.
Following the second world war Whitehead returned to racing and worked his way to purchasing a Ferrari 125 from Enzo Ferrari, contesting nine Grand Prix with it.
Whitehead’s most noteworthy exploits came in outside of F1 however, winning the 1951 Le Mans 24 Hours race. He was killed in 1958 while competing in the Tour de France.
Mike Hawthorn
“Farnham Flyer” Mike Hawthorn joined Ferrari in 1953 and raced with them until 1958 and became famed for wearing a bow tie during races.
Battling with the likes of F1 legend Juan Manuel Fangio, Hawthorn came close to title success in 1954 as he won three podiums and won in Spain.
However, he would not land a title until 1958, becoming the first Brit to win an F1 title in the Ferrari 246 in a title battle with Sir Stirling Moss.
Hawthorn would retire from racing in 1958 but would tragically die in a car accident on the A3 Guildford Bypass on January 22 1959.
Peter Collins
Peter Collins raced his first season with Ferrari in 1956.
He earned Enzo Ferrari’s respect that season when he gave up his own world title ambitions by handing his car over to Fangio at Monza.
Collins was active in F1 for six years, with his final win in F1 coming at Silverstone in 1958.
He died while racing around the Nurburgring just three weeks later.
Tony Brooks
Tony Brooks joined Ferrari in 1959 following the deaths of Hawthorn and Collins.
He won two races in Reims and Germany to hand him a shot at the title.
But the title dream would fall short after an ultimately needless pit-stop at Sebring, USA, following a collision with Wolfgang von Trips.
Unlike many unfortunate racers in the era, Brooks retired from motorsport and lived a long life, only passing away in 2022 aged 90.
Cliff Allison
Cliff Allison joined Ferrari as part of its stable of drivers for the 1959-1960 F1 season.
However, after just six races he saw his career cut short. Following a second place finish in Argentina, a crash at the 1960 Monaco Grand Prix saw Allison hurled from his cockpit and was sidelined for a year.
Allison woke up in a hospital speaking French despite never learning the language.
He returned to F1 in 1961 with Lotus but suffered a double leg break at the Belgium Grand Prix, ending a promising career. Allison died in 2005 aged 73.
John Surtees
The last man to win the F1 title at Ferrari, John Surtees was proficient in both F1 and motorcycle racing and is famed as a world champion on four and two wheels.
He was active for 12 years in F1, winning six races including two in 1964 on route to a championship.
Things eventually turned sour between driver and team however, leaving Ferrari in a rage in 1966.
Surtees died of respiratory failure in 2017 at the age of 83.
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Mike Parkes
Mike Parkes raced for Ferrari in the 1966 and 1967 F1 seasons following a seven-year break from the sport he had made his debut in in 1959.
Podiums in the French and Italian Grand Prix in 1966 showed off his promise before he suffered a leg-break in Belgium ended his career prematurely.
Parkes was also a racer in sports cars, winning the British Saloon Car Championship in 1961.
He died in 1977 aged 45.
Jonathan Williams
Jonathan Williams made just one F1 start in his racing career, but making it for Ferrari means he makes this list.
Williams one F1 race in Mexico saw him finish 8th.
He retired in 1972 and became a pilot, before switching to be a writer and photographer.
Williams died on in 2014 aged 71.
Derek Bell
Derek Bell is best known for his career in sportscars.
But the two F1 starts he made for Ferrari put him on this list even though he did not do great in the seat.
A lack of opportunities prompted him to move on from the team in 1969, before he would go on to win Le Mans five times to make him the most successful Brit to race in it to date.
Born in 1941, Bell has also won the Daytona 24 three times and the World Sportscar Championship twice.
Nigel Mansell
Nigel Mansell became the first driver to get behind the wheel of a Ferrari for more than 20 years when he joined the Prancing Horses in 1989.
Things started off well with a win at the Brazilian Grand Prix, but that would prove to be a false-dawn amid reliability issues.
Mansell would eventually leave the team at the end of 1990 to rejoin Williams, where “Mansellmania” was born as he won a championship in 1992.
“‘Il Leone” as he was known to the Tifosi, was the last driver confirmed by Enzo Ferrari before his death. These days Mansell is enjoying retirement with a number of successful business enterprises.
Eddie Irvine
Eddie Irvine came within touching distance of an F1 title in 1999, winning four races.
However, he was unable to match Michael Schumacher in his prime and promptly left at the end of the season before retiring from F1 in 2002.
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Irvine has since gone on to become a successful businessman which has earned him an incredible net worth.
He is the last Brit to race for Ferrari, and 20 years on Hamilton will follow in Irvine’s footsteps aiming for an eighth title to eclipse none-other than Schumacher.
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Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
