Lewis Hamilton begins life at Ferrari
First day at The Prancing Horse for the seven time F1 World Champion
Lewis Hamilton was at Maranello for the first day in his new chapter as a Scuderia Ferrari driver. The 40-year-old marked the occasion with a photoshoot in the drizzle in front of his favourite car, a Ferrari F40.
Hamilton will join new teammate Charles Leclerc as they aim to end the 18 year spell without a Drivers’ Championship for the Prancing Horse. The Brit will be aiming to end his own titleless spell, the last of which came with Mercedes in 2020.
The day’s events
After an early start at the team headquarters in Maranello, Hamilton then made his way to Ferrari’s test track in Fiorano where he was met by Team Principal, Fred Vasseur and Ferrari CEO, Benedetto Vigna.
The pair then took the ex-McLaren and Mercedes driver to the Fiorano house - the former house of Enzo Ferrari - and pit garage, as well as the Ferrari founder’s famous office overlooking the test track.
Hamilton then made his way back to the team’s HQ to meet the management team and members of various departments ahead of busy Tuesday, where preparations will begin in earnest for the 2025 season.
“Part of me has always held on to that dream of racing in red”
Hamilton reflected on the day’s events saying, “There are some days that you know you’ll remember forever and today, my first as a Scuderia Ferrari HP driver, is one of those days. I’ve been lucky enough to have achieved things in my career I never thought possible, but part of me has always held on to that dream of racing in red. I couldn’t be happier to realise that dream today.
I’m incredibly grateful to John Elkann, Benedetto Vigna, Fred Vasseur and everyone at Ferrari for their trust in me and making me part of this family. I’m so excited to start this new era and to meet and work with a hugely talented and inspiring group of people. I’m dedicated to bringing everything I have to deliver for the team, the wider organisation and the fans.
Today we start a new chapter in the history of this iconic team, and I can’t wait to see what story we will write together.”
Testing and first race of 2025 F1 season
Attention now turns to pre-season testing in Bahrain, where we’ll get our first glimpse of Lewis Hamilton behind the wheel of Ferrari. Testing runs from 26-28 February before teams head to Australia for the first weekend of the F1 season in Melbourne for the Australian Grand Prix from 14-16 March.
words: Mike Booth
pictures & video: Ferrari