Over 12 months since he stunned the Formula 1 world with the announcement of his move to Ferrari, the sight of Lewis Hamilton in red overalls is beginning to look familiar.
Following last month’s debut in an older chassis at the Fiorano test track, and an appearance before his home crowd at the F1 75 event earlier this week, yesterday Hamilton finally got to drive the first Ferrari he will race.
This is only the third different team Hamilton has joined since making his F1 debut in 2007. However he has no doubt the team which finished just 16 points off the constructors’ title last year is ready to end its long wait for another title.
“I’ve worked with two world championship-winning teams before, I know what a winning team looks and feels like,” he told media including RaceFans after his first run in the new SF-25 yesterday. “The passion here is like nothing you’ve ever seen. And they’ve got absolutely every ingredient they need to win a world championship.”
“I can’t eat pizzas all year long”
Although Hamilton has spent his F1 career until this season entirely at British-based, Mercedes-powered teams, this is not his first time in an Italian squad.
“I started racing in Italy when I was 13, in 1997,” he recalled. “I was there working with an Italian karting team and wanting to learn the language.”
His early attempt to pick up the language was not successful, he admitted. “I remember working with a mechanic and wanting to try and pick up some of the lingo.
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“My dream has always been to be able to speak another language, but I guess when you are always in an English-speaking country you’re not forced to, necessarily. 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.”
Since returning to Italy Hamilton is making a renewed effort to pick up more Italian. “I’m slowly getting there,” he said. “I think consistency is key and that’s why I really love being here at the factory, because I’m getting to practice more and more each day.”
He has also used his first weeks at the team to indulge his fondness for the local cuisine. “I’ve had already quite a few pizzas,” he grinned, “but somehow I’ve lost weight. Last week I had three pizzas.
“I love Italian food, I always have. I remember coming out here when I was racing with Nico [Rosberg] at the time, we used to go out and get gelato every freakin’ night and we used to eat a lot of pizza.”
He names penne arrabiata as his “favourite dish” and also has a fond memory of a lasagne made for him – before he stopped eating meat – by his mechanic’s mother-in-law. “She made me the most insane lasagne when I was 13 years old and I never forgot about it.”
“But I’ll have to watch my diet,” he adds. “That’s going to be hard. I can’t eat pizzas all year long, otherwise I won’t fit in the car.”
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“I need to elevate in absolutely every area”
The news of Hamilton’s move to Ferrari inevitably prompted comparisons with past champions who moved to F1’s most historic team in pursuit of glory. Since Kimi Raikkonen became the last driver to win a title in a Ferrari in the year Hamilton made his debut, two other champions have tried and failed to emulate him.
Both won races for the team, however. Indeed, Fernando Alonso won on his debut and Sebastian Vettel triumphed in his second start for the team. Hamilton, who is making only the second team change of his career, admits he has gained a deeper admiration for their achievement.
“Those guys did an amazing job and I have huge respect for those two drivers. Having joined teams before, the step it takes and the amount of work that goes on to acclimatising is extraordinary. So it makes those results that they had even more exceptional than even I had appreciated before.”
Hamilton arguably faces an even more challenging task than they did, as pre-season testing now consists of just three days – so one-and-a-half per driver.
“Fortunately I’ve had a good bit of time in the car. I still am acclimatising. It took me six months I think at Mercedes to get my first win. I’m doing everything I can to be ready for race one.”
After an often frustrating final season at Mercedes, which nonetheless yielded two wins, Hamilton has clearly been reinvigorated by his first change of team in more than a decade.
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“I know how long it takes to build trust, grow within a team and grow with people,” he said. “I’ve experienced that with Mercedes, I experienced that with McLaren and I really cherished the longevity that I had within those places and the bonds that we created in that time.
“They don’t happen overnight. But this step, it’s huge. It couldn’t be any bigger. The organisation is massive. The passion adds to it from the fans, the tifosi, the people within, for that desire to want to win. And you don’t want to let people down. You want to be able to deliver on your word.”
He is pushing himself hard to make a success of it. “I decided to come into this year, my resolution, my life, my mentality is that okay, I need to elevate in absolutely every area on my side. It’s not just this is who I am and just got to gel in, I’ve got to elevate in my fitness, my time management, how I engage with my engineers, how much time I spend in the factory, all these different things.
“I’ve definitely done that and I’m doing that and I will continue to do that in this drive for perfection and to achieve the success that I’m aiming to achieve. But it’s a lot of work, I have to say.”
Ferrari’s “completely different” car
He got his first impression of the work involved when he made his debut at the wheel of one of the team’s cars last month. After 18 years and 356 grands prix powered by Mercedes, he was surprised by the difference he discovered.
“It’s completely different. I thought ‘it’s another Formula 1 car’. When I went from McLaren to Mercedes there were similarities, but I guess it’s still powered by Mercedes so the sound, the vibration was all the same, or similar.
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“Whilst that was a slightly different characteristic of car, this is a step, with the whole thing being completely different. It’s a really exciting experience, this is something I’ve really enjoyed trying to wrap my mind around. Particularly also just in the settings and the terminology they use, the different ways that they can set up a car, that’s taken some getting used to, for sure.”
But despite the unfamiliarity – and having only done 100 kilometres in the new car so far – Hamilton says the early signs are promising.
“It’s rare that you just jump in and it just fits. For example, the steering wheel is completely different. Everything, all the switch settings are completely different. The software is different, everything.
“Not only with that, I’m having to adapt to a car that’s made quite differently to what I’ve worked with him in the past. To achieve the similar sort of thing, the feeling is a lot different.
“But I don’t feel like currently I’m having to change my driving style too much. I’m actually feeling quite comfortable in the car and just taking it one step at a time.
“I hope, and we’ll see as we get further down the line at the real race circuits that we’re going to, just how much aligned and how much change I might need to do. But the key is to be open-minded to being dynamic and I think luckily with my experience, I should be able to do that.”
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“Like a new life”
Hamilton’s run of title wins was halted first by the controversial conclusion to 2021 and then by Mercedes’ inability to master F1’s ‘ground effect’ rules. Despite his return to winning ways last year, he consistently under-performed in qualifying, and produced a few off-colour performances which left some wondering whether his best days are behind him.
But after 12 months of anticipating his move to Ferrari, now it has happened, Hamilton appears to have a new lease of life. Having once dismissed the possibility of racing past his 40th birthday – which fell last month – Hamilton admits the late career challenge of joining the storied Ferrari team has given him a shot in the arm.
“When I was much younger, I definitely didn’t think in my 19th season that I would be this excited. I never thought at this point in my career I would have so much excitement. Being at work, wanting to be at work early, wanting to put even extra levels of work in to achieve the dream. But here I am.
“It really is like a new life… I’ve just [found] this new way of life and energy. I guess I’ve received that from everyone here, from the fans, from the way people have reacted to me joining.
“Of course you’ve got a few people that will say a negative thing here and there. But it doesn’t touch what we’re doing and what we’re working towards.”
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