Lewis Hamilton Ferrari F1 failing highlighted in Sebastian Vettel throwback

Ferrari

Sebastian Vettel Ferrari throwback highlights Lewis Hamilton failing

Ferrari have proved a popular destination for F1 champions

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Sunday 10 August 2025 19:54

F1 legend Sebastian Vettel has taken to social media to celebrate his first win in red, highlighting a key failing from Ferrari's newest member, Lewis Hamilton.

The four-time champion may have retired from the pinnacle of motorsport in 2022 but has used social media to document his career highlights ever since, looking back on his win at the 2015 Malaysian GP with Ferrari in his latest throwback.

Article continues under video

In a post on his personal Instagram account, Vettel fondly recalled his first grand prix victory with the Scuderia, writing: "Malaysia GP (2nd Race): 1st place (Sepang International Circuit) - I think it has to be one of my best wins, as I did not swap teams that much in the past, and winning for a new team is definitely a great relief. And in my case it is for sure a dream come true, since there is so much more to it in the background.

"Since I joined the team, they have been phenomenal, welcoming me, and since then we have worked incredibly hard together trying to improve a lot of things."

Vettel went on to claim 13 more race wins with the iconic Italian F1 outfit but only ever managed to finish runner-up in the drivers' standings, failing to achieve championship success after his impressive run with Red Bull.

However, in 2015, the Malaysian GP marked the second race of the season and therefore, only Vettel's second outing with Ferrari. The champion's ability to extract a race win from his Ferrari machinery in only the second round is akin to what many were expecting Hamilton to achieve this season, but so far in his maiden campaign he hasn't even stepped on the podium after a grand prix, let alone graced the top step.

Sebastian Vettel earned 14 victories with Ferrari but never claimed a championship

Hamilton Ferrari triumph not enough

Sadly, Hamilton now appears to have embarked on the same path as the champions before him who fell for the allure of driving for the Scuderia in hopes of returning to the top of the standings.

Vettel headed to Maranello in the hope of finding championship success once again, but only managed to finish P2 in 2017 and 2018.

Now, to be fair to Hamilton, one must remember that Vettel's failure to win a drivers' title at Ferrari was in part due to the Brit's domination of the championship with Mercedes at the time.

Two-time champion Fernando Alonso followed a similar line of thinking and also failed to win a title in red, so the question remains whether the same fate awaits Hamilton?

Well, the 40-year-old certainly didn't emulate Vettel's win after just one race with Ferrari, in fact, the only glimmer of hope throughout Hamilton's debut season with the Scuderia was his sprint race victory at the Chinese GP.

In fairness, this was also only the second round of the season, meaning it could be argued that Hamilton's sprint win in Shanghai somewhat emulated Vettel's victory at the Malaysian GP a decade prior.

After 14 rounds of the campaign however, Hamilton appears more dejected over the likelihood of a return to the top with Ferrari and his sprint win is simply not enough to justify his move to Maranello being labelled a success just yet.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Sebastian Vettel (@sebastianvettel)

F1 HEADLINES: Hamilton announcement sends fans wild as Mercedes contract talks take twist

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

View full biography

Red Bull Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Sebastian Vettel