Lewis Hamilton claimed his first victory in his 31st Formula 1 race for Ferrari, but the statistics reveal that only three Scuderia drivers needed even more attempts
On his 31st attempt, Lewis Hamilton finally did it: At the 2026 Barcelona-Catalonia Grand Prix, the Brit celebrated his long-awaited debut victory for Ferrari. A look at the history books reveals that only three Scuderia drivers needed even more patience before their first triumph in red.
Carlos Sainz ranks just ahead of Hamilton. The Spaniard needed 32 attempts—exactly one more than the Briton—before winning his first race for the Maranello-based team. Just like Hamilton, Sainz also failed to secure a victory in his 2021 debut season, but unlike the record champion, he did manage to secure four podium finishes.
Sainz finally broke through in his second season with the Scuderia—more specifically, at the 2022 British Grand Prix at Silverstone. In the years that followed, however, the Spaniard added only three more victories in his red racing suit.
Eddie Irvine had to wait even longer for his breakthrough. The Northern Irishman didn’t celebrate his first Ferrari victory until his 50th race for the team. Yet his career with the Reds had started quite promisingly: On his debut in 1996, Irvine immediately finished third on the podium. However, it would remain his only podium finish that season.
Although Michael Schumacher’s teammate at the time achieved additional top-three finishes in 1997 and 1998, he was initially unable to claim first place. It wasn’t until the 1999 season opener in Australia that Irvine broke his drought. Three more victories would follow over the course of the season.
Jean Alesi Takes Nearly 70 Attempts to Win for Ferrari
However, Jean Alesi holds the undisputed top spot in this statistic. The Frenchman joined Ferrari in 1991 as one of the greatest talents of his generation, but found himself in a difficult period for the Scuderia. Despite numerous strong performances, Alesi celebrated his first victory in his fifth year and after 68 races with Ferrari.
The Frenchman finally secured his debut victory at the 1995 Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal. However, it was also his only Formula 1 victory ever. After five largely unsuccessful Formula 1 years with Ferrari, Alesi left the team and moved to Benetton.
However, the Scuderia’s overall statistics actually paint a very different picture: More than half of all Ferrari drivers needed fewer than ten races to claim their first victory. Quite a few, including Kimi Räikkönen and Fernando Alonso, even stormed straight to the top step of the podium on their Ferrari debut.
But how many races did world champions like Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel, or Niki Lauda actually need to secure their first victory in red? Our extensive photo gallery reveals this, featuring all Ferrari winners—and the exact number of races they had already completed by the time of their first triumph with the Scuderia.