Lewis Hamilton faces pivotal season as he fights to become the greatest F1 driver of all time

The Formula 1 2025 season is rapidly approaching, with the first race of the year, the Australian Grand Prix, on 16th March. With Lewis Hamilton now at Ferrari, it feels like the perfect time for the British driver to make history.

Many do see Ferrari as having a good chance of leading the pack by the end of 2025, and it would be pretty special if the most historic and successful car manufacturer in F1 managed to create history with Lewis Hamilton and help him become the driver with the most World Drivers’ Championship titles in history.

Ferrari finished in second in the 2024 Constructors Standings and only 14 points behind McLaren, whilst 2024 Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished in third and fifth.

Hamilton has won a joint-record seven Formula One World Drivers’ Championship titles, and he is currently tied with Michael Schumacher. Schumacher won five consecutive World Championships from 2000-2004 with Ferrari, whilst Ferrari have won the most F1 World Constructors’ Championship, with the Italian F1 team winning 16.

With the 2025 season around the corner, Hamilton had his first full Ferrari testing debut in Bahrain and it boded well for him as he completed 70 laps.

There were no major scares for Hamilton in his first full test, but there were some small moments where he went too wide or went slightly off-track. Although test times shouldn’t be taken into account due to the fact that different teams run different programmes, settings and tyres, it was good to see Hamilton be the fifth-quickest driver after the morning session.

He will go into this new season with lots of pressure, with many involving him in the debate for the greatest F1 driver of all time, and most of the stats do currently back this up.

His record speaks for itself as he has managed the most F1 Podium finishes in history, with 202 in 356 races, which is an amazing record. The British driver also has the most wins in F1 history, with 105.

Max Verstappen, who has won the Drivers’ Championship for the last four years running, and is naturally also involved in debates over who is the greatest driver of all time, despite him only being 27 years-old. Although Lewis Hamilton’s podium percentage (57%) is just above Verstappen’s (54%), the Dutch driver actually has a better win percentage, just. Hamilton has a win percentage of 29% and Verstappen’s is 30%.

The rivalry with Verstappen makes this season even more pivotal for Hamilton. Hamilton’s contract at Ferrari lasts for two seasons, so he will be with the team until the end of 2026 at the earliest. He would be 42 by the time his contract could end, and although Fernando Alonso is still driving at the age of 45, Hamilton may feel like his chance of making history and becoming the driver with the most F1 titles will start to slip away if he cannot manage this great achievement over the next two seasons with Ferrari.

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