Hamilton’s first weeks at Ferrari: ‘The place I am speculated to be’

In April 1972, Ferrari accomplished the development of its non-public take a look at observe adjoining to its manufacturing facility in Maranello, Italy. Constructed on the border of the neighbouring city of Fiorano Modenese, the 1.8-mile circuit, which features a Suzuka-style crossover, turned recognized merely as Fiorano. It was designed to duplicate options from the hardest racetracks of the period, together with Zandvoort’s Tarzan nook, the Nürburgring’s Brünnchen bounce and Monaco’s Gasometer hairpin (later reprofiled to change into Rascasse), all lovingly re-created on former Italian farmland.

Upon completion of the circuit, the land’s preexisting farmhouse and stables have been transformed for the race workforce to make use of throughout take a look at days, together with an workplace on the bottom ground for founder Enzo Ferrari. Within the closing 16 years of his life, it’s mentioned that Ferrari was not often happier than when he was watching certainly one of his beloved System 1 automobiles being pushed to the restrict on a lap of Fiorano. To this present day, Ferrari’s workplace stays a lot as he left it on his dying in August 1988 — full along with his authentic desk and bookshelves filled with season stories courting again to 1947.

It was becoming, subsequently, that on a chilly and moist January morning earlier this yr, Lewis Hamilton picked the farmhouse because the backdrop for his first official {photograph} as a Ferrari driver. Wearing a black go well with and black overcoat, he struck a timeless pose in entrance of a pristine Ferrari F40 — not solely Hamilton’s favorite supercar, but additionally the final street automotive to be commissioned by Enzo Ferrari.

As soon as it had completed breaking the web, the picture instantly took its place in F1 historical past. As he stood for the digicam, Hamilton should have recognized the affect the picture would have — not least on his former Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, who likened it to seeing a divorced companion in a brand new relationship.

A brand new chapter had opened in Hamilton’s outstanding story, and it guarantees to be probably the most thrilling but. In response to these closest to him, it has stuffed the 40-year-old with renewed power as he prepares to race into a brand new period.

After his first few days as a Ferrari driver, Hamilton himself mentioned it was like a brand new starting.

“I’m really conscious of the fact that there are only a handful of special first times in life,” he mentioned a few days after the photoshoot, having pushed a Ferrari at Fiorano for the primary time. “The primary kiss, the primary date, the primary day of faculty, the primary time within the job. I truthfully thought that I’d had all my firsts, and nothing was ever going to be new once more. I’m stunned by simply how a lot I nonetheless love what I do.

“I’ve at all times imagined what it might be like sitting within the cockpit surrounded by purple, and I’ve been ready such a very long time for it. So, firing the automotive up, it’s like such a brand new, uncharted journey, and it’s probably the most thrilling factor that’s occurred to me in so long as I can bear in mind.

“It’s nothing like the car that I had before over the last 10, 12, 17 years. It’s unique. To feel the vibration of a Ferrari engine for the first time, wow, that’s what I think ultimately put the biggest smile on my face.”

A brand new residence

Hamilton’s days at Maranello have already developed a way of routine. He begins his mornings by working a number of laps of Fiorano — a part of an intense coaching regime to defy his advancing years — after which returns to his non-public motorhome, parked neatly subsequent to the farmhouse, to get showered and altered.

When he was planning his transfer to Ferrari, Hamilton initially checked out residences within the close by rolling hills of Emilia Romagna, however after viewing a few distant and spooky properties, he determined in opposition to being the only occupant of a rambling Nineteenth-century villa. As an alternative, he has plans to purchase a spot in Milan — a metropolis of excessive vogue and quick espressos — the place he has a community of mates to maintain him firm and meet for espresso.

Even a house in Milan would lead to a two-hour commute every technique to Maranello, although, which is why his motorhome — the identical one he stays in at European races — has been so helpful throughout his early weeks on the workforce. Greater than the rest, the comfort of staying on the manufacturing facility grounds has helped him maximise a commodity that’s in more and more quick provide: time.

“From the day you join the team to the first race, it may seem a drawn-out period to [the media], but it’s not,” Hamilton mentioned. “It’s a very short amount of time, and there’s no shortcuts that you can take. So we’re not taking it easy; we’re putting in the hours and we’re grafting.”

Lengthy days on the manufacturing facility have change into routine, usually beginning as early as 7 a.m. and ending late into the evening. Engineering briefings that stretch past their morning window have additionally been recognized to proceed over the eating desk of his motorhome at lunch — one other clear advantage of his non permanent live-work lodging.

“The biggest challenge is getting ready,” Hamilton instructed ESPN in an unique interview. “I bear in mind in my earlier workforce after I joined, it wasn’t till six months [later] I received my first race. It takes time to construct relationships, to construct belief with everyone, to know how an organisation works, how individuals are tuned to work, how one can present up for individuals and get the very best out of them, and vice versa.

“And there’s not really a shortcut for that. So I would say that the biggest challenge is: how can I blend in with this team? How can I merge with everyone here?”

To kick off his integration, Hamilton’s first days at Maranello have been spent visiting each division and making an attempt to shake palms with each worker. Eager to make an excellent first impression, he provided his customary vise-like handshake to roughly 1,500 individuals, leading to an aching forearm by the second day and a chilly the next week.

What Hamilton has seen on the workforce over the previous month has clearly impressed him, although. It’s nonetheless early days, however he’s already satisfied Ferrari has all the pieces it wants for him to win the title this yr.

“I worked with two world championship-winning teams before. I know what a winning team looks and feels like,” Hamilton mentioned. “The passion here is like nothing you’ve ever seen. They’ve got absolutely every ingredient they need to win a world championship; it’s just about putting all the pieces together.”

Parlo Italiano

Though Ferrari operates a strict coverage of conducting engineering conferences in English, the overwhelming majority of its workers are native Italians. Hamilton has lengthy harbored a want to be bilingual and is now making an attempt to attain that aim by taking one-on-one Italian classes in his spare time.

Within the late Nineties and early 2000s, Hamilton’s karting profession noticed him compete repeatedly in Italy, permitting him to choose up a number of helpful phrases. That publicity to the language as a youngster has given him a place to begin to construct upon now that he has change into one of many nation’s sporting heroes.

“I started racing in Italy when I was 13, so 1997,” he recalled. “I used to be there working with an Italian kart workforce and eager to be taught the language. I bear in mind working with a mechanic and eager to attempt to choose up a number of the lingo.

“My dream has always been to be able to speak another language, but I guess when you’re always in an English-speaking country and you’re not forced necessarily to have to do so, it makes it maybe a little bit harder. But it was a language that I loved trying to learn back then, and I never quite finished it.”

Hamilton has already practiced his Italian on his new mechanics in the course of the handful of take a look at days he has accomplished with Ferrari and hopes his efforts will assist construct nearer bonds with these round him.

“I guess I want people to know that I’m willing to go above and beyond to be able to blend in and to contribute to my fullest potential,” he added. “So I’m having fun with it, and it’s difficult to practise, and it’s positively arduous to at all times retain and bear in mind the phrases.

“It’s not easy to learn another language, but I’m slowly getting there. I think consistency is key, and that’s why I really love being here at the factory, because I’m getting to practise more and more each day.”

Getting behind the wheel

Since becoming a member of Ferrari in January, Hamilton has taken half in 4 separate on-track exams. His debut was driving a 2023-spec automotive at Fiorano, finishing 30 laps in entrance of his new workforce, members of his household (together with his father, mom and stepmother) and hundreds of the workforce’s followers, generally known as Tifosi, who crowded a close-by flyover that provides a view of the observe.

Remarkably for a driver with 356 race begins to his identify, Hamilton nonetheless had some pinch-me moments as he ready for his first drive. Whereas visiting the restroom forward of his first run, he obtained a glimpse of himself in a mirror and couldn’t assist however cease and take within the second as he zipped up his all-red race go well with.

His subsequent take a look at came about on the Circuit Barcelona-Catalunya and was at all times going to be a much less ceremonial affair. Once more within the 2023 automotive, he shared cockpit time with teammate Charles Leclerc, with the goal of getting used to the automotive’s techniques, a brand new steering wheel format and Ferrari’s trackside procedures.

It was at that take a look at that he misplaced management of the automotive and broken it in opposition to the obstacles. Hamilton was nice, however sources counsel the notoriously wind-sensitive SF-23 caught him off guard as he was beginning to discover the bounds of its efficiency. Such accidents aren’t unusual in non-public exams and, as unusual because it sounds, Hamilton can have realized in regards to the limitations of Ferrari’s newest technology of ground-effect automobiles from the crash.

He was again on the similar observe in a 2024-spec Ferrari per week later, albeit in a automotive that had been modified with a Monza wing to simulate the decrease ranges of downforce anticipated in 2026. The run plan was dictated by Pirelli and aimed toward gathering as a lot information as doable in regards to the barely narrower tyres that F1 automobiles will race with subsequent yr.

Lastly, he obtained his palms on this yr’s automotive at its launch on Wednesday. Again at Fiorano, he cut up a 200-kilometre filming day with Leclerc in chilly however dry circumstances.

After digesting the teachings realized from all 4 exams, Hamilton has already began to know what adjustments he may have to make to be as aggressive as doable.

“I am definitely having to adapt my driving style,” he mentioned. “It’s uncommon that you simply simply bounce in and it simply suits. For instance, the steering wheel is totally completely different. All of the change settings are fully completely different. The software program is completely different. I’m having to adapt to that. I’m adapting to a automotive that’s made fairly in another way to what I’ve labored with up to now.

“We’ll see as we get further down the line at the real race circuits that we’re going to just how much aligns and how much change I might have to do. The key is to be open-minded and to be dynamic. I think, luckily, with my experience, I should be able to do that.”

It’s clear Hamilton will not be underestimating the scale of the problem forward of him. It would take time for him to maximise his efficiency at Ferrari, and never simply from a driving perspective, however his motivation seemingly is aware of no bounds.

“I’ve always thought to myself, for me, I know how long it takes to build trust and grow within a team and grow with people,” Hamilton mentioned. “I’ve skilled that with Mercedes, and I’ve skilled that with McLaren. I actually cherish the longevity that I had inside these locations and the bonds that we created in that point, they usually don’t occur in a single day.

“However this step is big. It couldn’t be any greater. The organisation is huge. The fervour provides to it from the followers, from the variety, from the individuals inside, for that want to wish to win.

“And you don’t want to let people down. You want to be able to deliver on your word. And so how I decided to come into this year, my resolution, my mentality, is I need to elevate in absolutely every area on my side. It’s not just, ‘This is who I am’ and I can just get in. I’ve got to elevate my fitness, my time management, how I engage with my engineers, how much time I spend in the factory, all these different things. And I’ve definitely done that, and I’m doing that and I will continue to do that in this strive for perfection and to achieve the success that I’m aiming to achieve. But it’s a lot of work, I have to say.”

Checkmate

To make that course of even more durable, Hamilton faces a teammate who already has six years of expertise racing for the workforce in addition to a complete junior profession as a part of the Ferrari fold. Regardless of an age hole of greater than 12 years between them, Leclerc and Hamilton seem to have gotten off on the precise foot and have already got an excellent relationship.

They each have pursuits in music, vogue and are proud house owners of canine (Hamilton’s British bulldog, Roscoe, met Leclerc’s miniature dachshund, Leo, at Silverstone final yr). In fact, smiles and laughs are straightforward to share earlier than a wheel has turned in anger, however there are real indicators of wholesome competitors — one thing workforce boss Frédéric Vasseur mentioned he’ll actively encourage.

On-line chess has already sparked a mini rivalry of their first month as teammates. As of Wednesday, when the 2025 automotive was launched, Hamilton was up 3-2 in opposition to Leclerc, though the problem of a brand new recreation had already been accepted.

“We’ve got a great relationship,” Hamilton mentioned of Leclerc. “And I’m simply making an attempt to watch how he works. He’s very, very skilled. He’s clearly well-loved inside this workforce and effectively embedded on this workforce.

“He jumps within the automotive and he’s on it straightaway. He’s very quick, and I’m fully conscious of that. You’ve seen his qualifying laps that he’s put in. He’s put nice races collectively. He’s solely 27. He’s very mature for a 27-year-old, I feel most likely extra mature than I used to be after I was 27.

“It is not going to be easy to beat him, naturally, but we’ll work together and we’ll collaborate to make sure the car and the team can move forwards in the right way. And we’re going to have some great races, I hope.”

‘I’m precisely the place I’m speculated to be’

The clearest message coming from Hamilton’s first month at Ferrari is his renewed enthusiasm for F1. The three years since he missed out on the 2021 title in controversial circumstances now appear lengthy and bruising as he and Mercedes struggled to rekindle the fireplace that had burned so brilliant from 2014 to 2022.

The transfer to Ferrari has introduced Hamilton with a brand new starting, one which has solely deepened his love of the game and his want to go racing on the highest degree.

“Winning the championship for Ferrari would feel like the first,” he mentioned. “That’s what I’m working towards. I don’t think about [an eighth drivers’ championship]. I’m thinking about the first championship that the team’s won for some time. For me, it’s looking for that first one with the team.”

Hamilton sees no cause that first Ferrari title can’t occur this yr, however till the automobiles hit the observe on the first spherical in Australia, there’s little sense in making predictions. What’s clear is that Hamilton has little doubt in his thoughts that he made the precise determination in becoming a member of Ferrari. Even trying on the yellow protect on his T-shirt throughout a media interview is sufficient to persuade him of that.

“I look down at it and I’m like, ‘Wow!’ I can’t believe I’m finally here,” he mentioned. “It’s taken me a long time to get here, but I’m glad it’s now. I feel like I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be right at this moment.”