When Lewis Hamilton took his Ferrari racing suit for the primary time before his first test for the team last month, he took a moment to adapt to his recent look.
While a variety of overalls are automatic for racing drivers, it’s an honor that may be awarded so few. And after 12 years in silver and black from Mercedes, this was a giant change for Hamilton.
Finally he was in Ferrari Red. The excitement and anticipation he had made for long. Now, after the beginning of the season of the F1 in London and his first test within the automotive 2025, it’s a reality.
Such a miracle is something that may only stir Ferrari. No matter what number of world championships or run you win, the sensation of being a part of essentially the most famous and successful team from F1 is unsurpassed. It is what Hamilton has made to maneuver and why he has been exhausting because the starting of the Maranello in mid -January.
Hamilton's enthusiasm showed no signs of follow -up examinations near the brand new season and the official start of his next chapter. After a sobering last yr with Mercedes, which seemed that Hamilton appeared to be characterised by his love for F1, often by a below -average automotive, by his love for F1, he has a fresh spring in his step.
He is revived. Renewed. And above all, he’s confident that the record -breaking eighth World Cup, which he got here in in 2021 in a round of profit, is in sight again in Ferrari.
“You have absolutely every ingredient you need to win a world championship,” said Hamilton. “It's just about putting all the parts together.”
The adaptation to a brand new environment didn’t do much of Hamilton during his F1 profession.
In contrast to more journeyman F1 drivers – on Tuesday, Carlos Sainz found that he has driven half of the network in 10 years – Hamilton only switches to his third team. It will probably be the primary time that he drove without Mercedes engines, and the primary time that he doesn’t drive for an English team.
“This step is huge,” said Hamilton on Wednesday after his first test in Ferrari's recent automotive. “It couldn't be bigger.” There was a number of attitude, from the vibration of the Ferrari engine behind him to the varied steering wheel functions and processes. Hamilton is a newly discovered appreciation for drivers who made these switches and were immediately successful, but he accepts the change.
“Every day I experience something new that is really exciting,” said Hamilton.
This includes learning Italian. While Ferrari performs all of his meetings in English, Hamilton took Italian lessons last yr to raised interact along with his mechanics and engineers, equivalent to chating about on a regular basis life. Learning a brand new language has all the time been one in all Hamilton's dreams. Last week he even gave a speech in Italian in Ferrari's Factory and strives to deepen Italian culture – including food. “Last week I had three pizzas,” said Hamilton, noticing that he indeed lost weight, but he couldn’t sustain.
Vasseur and Hamilton debut the SF-25 at F1 75 continue to exist Tuesday. (Sam Bloxham/Getty Images)
The effort that Hamilton did along with his recent colleagues haven’t been unnoticed. On his first day within the factory, he tried to fulfill all 1,500 team members and provides his hand. “He is incredible with people,” said Jerome d'Ambrosio, Ferrari's recent deputy team leader, who worked with Hamilton at Mercedes. “The team loves him after the first day.”
Hamilton also enjoyed many elements that make Ferrari unique, e.g.
Hamilton is already working well along with his recent team -mate Charles Leclerc. While the couple had entertained previously, they might only work together the official start of Hamilton at Ferrari. They are already playing chess games against one another, even through the F1 75 live events on Tuesday within the O2 Hamilton, in accordance with Leclerc, 3-2. They show signs of an excellent partnership.
“The first weeks of cooperation between the two are mega-good,” said Fred Vasseur, director of Ferrari Team. “I'm not surprised at all. We are now starting in very good shape. The most important thing is to keep this relationship, continue to work as a team and to drive as a team. “
Vasseur said that Hamilton was currently the “perfect fit” for Ferrari, while Leclerc believed that the British concludes the best point, because the team's mentality is now partly stronger due to Vasseurs leadership than ever. The championship will not be a sensible goal for Ferrari.
“The fact that Lewis joined the team was a big boost and was surprising in many ways,” said Leclerc. “But I even have the sensation that the team may be very, very quiet and really quiet and really clear, through which the direction through which you possibly can work and will not be too affected by the whole lot that is occurring within the team. This is incredibly necessary and great to see. “
The most important thing is how Hamilton starts with the start of the new F1 season and how Ferrari begins with the competition.
Hamilton War Adamant Ferrari had all the ingredients to win the World Cup for the first time since 2008. The team fell on the crown of the designers last year and lost against McLaren. An incredibly fine border – but a more determined. In a season in which Vasseur expects four teams to fight for racing victories, the last thousandth of a second will be important.
“It's not about changing the automotive completely or whatever,” said Vasseur. “If we are able to achieve a small performance one or two topics, it is already a big step forward. And Lewis comes with his own experience with his own background. He will help the team develop in every single area. “
Ferrari decided annually. Although the SF-25 is a development of the model of the past yr and the complete automotive concept stays the identical and reduces the training curve that the team will undergo, each part is recent.
Even if Hamilton has confidence in Ferrari's title speed, he found how hard the competition needs to be this yr. “It is far too early to know what the year will look like,” said Hamilton. “We know that it is going to be very tight between the highest teams. We haven't seen the opposite cars. We weren't on the track with the opposite cars. “
At the tip of the day, Lewis Hamilton welcomes the Fiorano Circuit on February 19, 2025 (Emmanuele Ciancaglini/Getty Images)
An eighth driver title is the goal, but Hamilton's appreciation for Ferrari runs deeply and he knows how significant the termination of the team's title village will probably be – if in any respect, significant, since everyone seems to be invested in Maranello (and throughout Italy). “I work on that,” he said. “I don't think of number eight. I think of the first championship that the team has won for some time. “
Hamilton knows how much labor there remains to be to arrange for the brand new season, however the spark that he has rediscovered with this step to Ferrari is clear from each interaction. It gave him a brand new life contract in some ways. At 40 there isn’t any sign that he thinks about how his F1 profession can end. He feels young and stays in maximum physical condition. And this recent project only drives him.
“The energy I received from the team is magic here,” said Hamilton. “There remains to be a number of labor and the transplant from absolutely all long, and everybody already uses it to attain it.
“But it's also about faith. Everyone here dreams of winning Ferrari, each person on this team. “
After a few difficult years, this belief returns to Lewis Hamilton. The coming weeks will show how real his title opportunities are in Red in his first year. But things feel good for now.
“I do know that I’m exactly where I needs to be,” said Hamilton. “Of course it feels, it feels right.”
image credit : www.nytimes.com