Anthony Davidson believes Fernando Alonso’s history of racing for every F1 power unit manufacturer could hold key lessons for Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari.
The seven-time world champion is currently trying to get accustomed to Ferrari’s power unit systems as well as other controls such as the pedals and steering wheel having switched from Mercedes.
Hamilton’s entire F1 career up until his first Ferrari test in January has been spent with Mercedes power following his McLaren stint, with the Briton spending 12 seasons at Mercedes itself.
Most drivers do not spend that long with one team and so are accustomed to changing power units, pedals and steering controls and seat position often, but it is something Hamilton has not faced since 2012/13.
Old rival Alonso is the only driver on the 2025 grid to have raced all four power units, using Ferrari in 2014, Honda between 2015-17, Renault in 2018 and 2021-2022 and Mercedes since moving to Aston Martin in for 2023.
This skill of adapting to different suppliers is something Davidson feels Hamilton could follow Alonso’s example of.
“I think even he himself is keen to find out how long that is going to take,” Davidson exclusively told RacingNews365 when asked how long it would take for Hamilton to lose his Mercedes muscle memory.
“He’s come from having Mercedes power units his whole career, and it is going to be difficult, no matter how good you are, it is going to be difficult to learn a new power unit.
“But then you look at Fernando Alonso who has driven loads of different power units.
“He comes from a similar background to Lewis in terms of experience and capabilities behind the wheel, so it can be done.”
