Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari: How his last 5 predecessors fared on their debut with the team

Lewis Hamilton would be making his debut with Ferrari in Melbourne this season in what should be the start of an iconic partnership. On one side we have the most successful team in F1, and on the other side, we have the most successful driver to have ever raced in the sport. You add the two, and you get blockbuster viewing.

With that being said, Lewis Hamilton is not the first elite F1 talent/former world champion who has joined Ferrari to form a 'super team' of sorts. Even in the past, there have been quite a few world champions/highly rated talents who made their way to Maranello.

As is often said, 'the first impression is the last one.' How did those drivers fare in their very first race for the team? In this feature, we'll take a look at how the last 5 predecessors of Lewis Hamilton fared on their first outing with Ferrari.

How Lewis Hamilton's predecessors have fared at Ferrari

#1 Sebastian Vettel (P3 at the 2015 F1 Australian GP)

Just like Lewis Hamilton would this season, Sebastian Vettel also made his Ferrari debut in Australia. The driver qualified in P4 behind the two Mercedes cars and the Williams of Felipe Massa. In the race, Vettel got the jump on Massa and would finish his first race with the Italian team on the podium.

#2 Fernando Alonso (P1 at the 2010 F1 Bahrain GP)

For Fernando Alonso, it was a bit more dramatic as the Spaniard kicked things off with a bang at Ferrari. He started his first race by qualifying in P3 behind Sebastian Vettel in Red Bull and teammate Felipe Massa.

He got the jump on Massa at the start of the race and shadowed Vettel for the most part. A late-race issue for the Red Bull driver meant that Alonso would jump the German and assume the lead, eventually ending up winning a race on his first outing with the team.

#3 Kimi Raikkonen (P1 at the 2007 F1 Australian GP)

As far as debuts go, there aren't many better than what Kimi Raikkonen had with Ferrari. The Finnish driver had moved from McLaren to the Italian squad and replaced the F1 legend Michael Schumacher on the team. As far as debuts go, there aren't many as dominant as the one that Raikkonen had.

He started the race in pole position. He nailed the start and then never looked back. The Ferrari driver had pace in the bank and just managed everything to bring the car home in a dominant display from the Finn. This was also the race when a young Briton named Lewis Hamilton made his F1 debut in a McLaren and finished the race on the podium.

#4 Michael Schumacher (DNF at the 1996 F1 Australian GP)

The Michael Schumacher-Ferrari partnership would eventually go on to achieve great things in the sport, but the start was not the most ideal. The German had joined the team in a phase where things were just not working, and the car was not a gridbeater by any means.

His first race with the Italian team saw Schumacher run the race in the top 3, but a gearbox issue meant that he had to retire very early in the race and could not make it to the finish.

#5 Alain Prost (DNF at the 1990 F1 US GP)

Just like Michael Schumacher, Alain Prost also didn't have the most fulfilling debut with Ferrari. The driver was running outside of the top 5 on his first race with the team, but reliability issues scuppered any chance of scoring points or finishing the race. This was a race that was won by Lewis Hamilton's idol, Ayrton Senna, who held off Jean Alesi.