How the Lewis Hamilton-Mercedes partnership compares to the most successful combinations in history: F1 stats
Lewis Hamilton will be putting on the Mercedes overalls for the last time this year before the partnership comes to an end and he moves to Ferrari in 2025. It was in 2012 after the F1 Singapore GP, when Hamilton decided it was time for a change.
This change was a move to Mercedes, which came to fruition as Niki Lauda ended up convincing Lewis Hamilton of the German outfit's prospects. A "Driver-Team" combination is a rare partnership that can bring brilliant results when there is synergy.
More often than not, whenever these partnerships are formed, it leads to the emergence of dynasties in the sport that rule the grid for a considerable amount of time. Lewis Hamilton did that with Mercedes when he moved to the German squad in 2012. But where does this partnership stand in terms of success compared to the other successful partnerships? Let's take a look.
#5 Ayrton Senna-McLaren (1988-93)
Titles: 3
Wins: 35
At no. 5 we have the Ayrton Senna-McLaren partnership that began in 1988 and continued until the end of 1993. The Brazilian joined the team when it had already started winning with Alain Prost. He was expected to be a strong teammate for the Frenchman, but not many expected Senna to beat Prost.
As it turned out, by the end of 1988, Senna had taken over the team and won the title in 1988. After Prost's departure in 1989, the Brazilian would win two more titles by the time he left the team; he had put together a total of 35 wins with three world titles.
#4 Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull (2009-14)
Titles: 4
Wins: 38
At no. 4 we have the recently retired world champion, Sebastian Vettel. The German was a prodigy when Helmut Marko plucked him out of the junior series and gave him a chance. After impressing at Toro Rosso in his first full season, Vettel moved to Red Bull in 2009.
After a failed late-season charge in 2009, Vettel continued his impressive run into 2010. The driver went into the last race of the season in Abu Dhabi with four drivers, including himself, in contention for the title (Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber, and Lewis Hamilton being the other three). The driver clinched the win and the title to kickstart a 4-year reign.
By the time he left Red Bull in 2014, Sebastian Vettel was already a 4-time world champion and had won 38 races with the team.
#3 Max Verstappen-Red Bull (2016-Present)
Titles: 4
Wins: 63
Max Verstappen has been a familiar figure who has been dominating F1 in recent years. The Dutchman joined Red Bull in 2016 and won his first title by defeating Lewis Hamilton in 2021. He has since then gone on to win 3 more world titles.
The driver has a contract until the end of 2028 and has already accumulated 63 career wins with the team.
#2 Michael Schumacher-Ferrari (1996-2006)
Titles: 5
Wins: 72
At number two, we have the iconic partnership of Michael Schumacher and Ferrari that went on to win five world titles. The partnership began in 1996 when the German moved from Benetton to the Italian team to build it from being a perennial midfielder to becoming a winning juggernaut.
The manner in which the partnership went on a dominant run was unprecedented at the time, only to be bettered by what the Lewis Hamilton-Mercedes partnership did nearly a decade later.
#1 Lewis Hamilton-Mercedes (2013-24) (The Benchmark)
Titles: 6
Wins: 84
At the top of the list, we have Lewis Hamilton's stint at Mercedes. The driver joined the team in 2013 after a controversial move away from McLaren. This move bore fruit for the Brit relatively quickly as the team produced a grid beater in 2014 and went on a dominant run, with Hamilton claiming 153 of his 202 career podium finishes.
The partnership has also seen the driver win as many as 6 world titles with the team and posits itself firmly on top for the most successful partnership in the history of the sport.