It is now real. Lewis Hamilton posed dressed in a tailored Italian suit and an overcoat. Next to him, an F40, Enzo Ferrari’s great obsession in his last years of life to demonstrate the muscle of the Italian factory.
And, in the background, the ‘Commendatore’s’ country house. In which he saw, until his death in 1988, the legendary businessman ‘fly low’ to his Formula 1 cars. There is no other reading, it is true: Lewis Hamilton is a Ferrari driver.
The ‘Hamilton day’ arrived. The one he bet on after leaving a Mercedes where it was all about the team of his childhood dreams. Also the one of future dreams, as the most iconic brand is, along with McLaren, the one that starts as the big favorite for the world title in 2025.
It is Hamilton’s great obsession since it slipped away from him in 2021 against Verstappen in Abu Dhabi. The day of the Safety Car caused by Latifi and a pass by the Dutchman on new tyres to change history. The title count, after that day, remains at seven.
It’s one of those days that you know you will remember forever. And today [January 20] is one of them: the first as a Ferrari driver
That is the mission of his arrival at Maranello. There he is eagerly awaited, looking for a title that has not come since Raikkonen’s 2007. To this ‘holy land’, Lewis is excited and determined, something that is not hidden in his words. “It’s one of those days that you know you’ll remember forever. And today [January 20] is one of them: the first as a Ferrari driver,” he explains.
The red that he fell in love with as a child is now his. “I was fortunate to achieve many things in my career that I never thought possible, but one I always had was that dream of running in red. I couldn’t be happier to fulfill that dream,” says the ’44’.
Hamilton’s path at Ferrari is clear. He will be, from day one, a clear contender. McLaren, with Norris and Piastri, perhaps best interprets what to offer in their cars to dominate. Max Verstappen will never be ruled out. And Ferrari believes. “We are starting a new era in the history of this iconic team. I can’t wait to see what the story we write together holds,” Hamilton concludes
We are starting a new era in the history of this iconic team. I can’t wait to see what the story we write together holds
That he will now start working. His first contacts with the team will be with an old car, as the FIA is very strict about what kind of F1 cars can be used. It will be used to get used to the team, perhaps also to the steering wheel and its systems. He will also go through the simulator, another key point in the development. Maranello and Fiorano will be the main laboratory before heading to Bahrain. There the fire will be real in testing.
