Hamilton is Ferrari’s first new driver in 44 years to complete season without a podium

Lewis Hamilton’s first season at Ferrari came to a disappointing end in Yas Marina as he failed to finish on the podium in the grand prix again.

The seven-times world champion stunned Formula 1 when he announced his move to the Scuderia for this year. His season began well as he won the sprint race in Shanghai.

Bu while his team mate Charles Leclerc reached the podium seven times, fourth place has been the limit for Hamilton. He finished there four times: at Imola, in back-to-back races at the Red Bull Ring and Silverstone, and finally at Austin.

His last, best chance to reach the rostrum came at the Mexican Grand Prix, where he qualified third. However he picked up a penalty for an incident with Max Verstappen and fell to eighth place.

The last driver to join Ferrari at the start of a season and fail to score a podium finish was Ivan Capelli in 1992. However he was dropped by Ferrari before the season was over.

Not since the 1981 season has a newcomer spent an entire season at Ferrari without reaching the podium. That was Didier Pironi, who became a race-winner with the team the following year.

Podium finishes by new Ferrari drivers since 1981

*Joined team at ninth round
**Drove for Tyrrell in first race
***Dropped two races before end of season

This article will be updated

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