Lewis Hamilton has his first day with Ferrari at Maranello to kick-start the new journey, as he realises his dream of driving the red F1 car.
While he has to wait a couple of days before actually driving the Ferrari F1 car at Fiorano, Hamilton kick-started his journey at Maranello after his first visit to the famous headquarter on Monday via Enzo Ferrari 27. He met team principal Frederic Vasseur and CEO Benedetto Vigna before the traditional photoshoot.
His favourite supercar Ferrari F40 made a presence too as seen in the photo. He was greeted by a typical British weather at Maranello. Hamilton had Vasseur and Vigna giving him a tour of Fiorano building where Enzo’s office is situated. He was then taken to the factory to meet the management and also Piero Ferrari.
The whole day was an immersion programme for Hamilton, visiting the different departments to know the team. The seven-time champion will continue to immerse himself with more technical meetings and briefings lined-up on Tuesday to prepare well for the 2025 F1 season alongside Charles Leclerc.
He is reportedly set for his first Ferrari run this week in the 2023 car, but there is no clarity on the day when he does it. “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,” said Hamilton about his first day at the Italian manufacturer’s base.
“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,” summed up Hamilton.
Here’s Lewis Hamilton on no comparison with Michael Schumacher
Here’s F1 fans voting Ferrari pair as best for 2025
Here’s Frederic Vasseur on what pleased him in 2024
Here’s Toto Wolff, George Russell on Lewis Hamilton
Here’s link to a F1 Discord channel, join in to interact