Lewis Hamilton’s first Formula 1 grand prix victory with Ferrari at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix has drawn comparisons with fellow seven-time champion Michael Schumacher.
F1 journalist and host of the press conferences Tom Clarkson noted a “lovely symmetry” between the Briton’s triumph and Schumacher’s maiden win for the Maranello outfit.
Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast, Clarkson reflected on Hamilton’s emotional return to the top step of the podium and drew a parallel to Ferrari’s most successful era.
“There’s a lovely symmetry because it was 30 years ago here at the Circuit de Catalunya, as it was called then, that Michael Schumacher won his first race for Ferrari.”
Hamilton joined Ferrari in 2025 after a 12-year stint at Mercedes, during which he won six of his seven championship titles. The Briton revealed at the time that his goal of driving for the Scuderia stemmed from watching Schumacher at Ferrari.
“I think for every driver, I think growing up, watching the history, watching Michael Schumacher in his prime, I think probably all of us sit in our garage and see the screen pop up, and you see the driver in the red cockpit, and you wonder what it might be like to be surrounded by the red,” Hamilton told the media after the announcement of his move in 2024.
“You go to the Italian Grand Prix, and you see the sea of red of Ferrari fans, and you can only stand in awe of that. It’s a team that’s not had huge success really since, mostly obviously from Michael’s days, but obviously since 2007, and I saw it as a huge challenge.
Michael Schumacher, Ferrari, Mika Hakkinen, McLaren
Photo by: Pascal Rondeau – ALLSPORT – Getty Images
“Without a doubt, even as a kid, I used to play on Grand Prix 2 [a computer game] as Michael in that car. So it definitely is a dream, and I’m really, really excited about it.”
Brazilian journalist Julianne Cerasoli, who joined Clarkson on the recent episode of the F1 Nation podcast, claimed that Hamilton only had one complaint about his new outfit. “He only had one complaint, and that was when he made a comparison with Michael,” Cerasoli said.
“Michael’s cockpit was red, and his is white. In his dreams, he would be driving and seeing red all over him, and he sees white from where he stands. That’s his only complaint.”
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