Laurence EdmondsonFeb 24, 2025, 06:34 AM ET
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• Joined ESPN in 2009• An FIA accredited F1 journalist since 2011
In April 1972, Ferrari accomplished the development of its non-public check observe adjoining to its manufacturing unit 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 identified merely as Fiorano. It was designed to copy 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 grow to be 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 group to make use of throughout check days, together with an workplace on the bottom flooring for founder Enzo Ferrari. Within the last 16 years of his life, it’s stated that Ferrari was not often happier than when he was watching one in all his beloved Components 1 automobiles being pushed to the restrict on a lap of Fiorano. To today, Ferrari’s workplace stays a lot as he left it on his loss of life in August 1988 — full together with his unique desk and bookshelves stuffed with season experiences relationship 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 automobile 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 digital camera, Hamilton will need to have identified the influence the photograph would have — not least on his former Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, who likened it to seeing a divorced associate 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 accordance with these closest to him, it has stuffed the 40-year-old with renewed power as he prepares to race into a brand new period.
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After his first few days as a Ferrari driver, Hamilton himself stated 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 stated 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 college, the primary time within the job. I actually 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 all the time imagined what it will be like sitting within the cockpit surrounded by pink, and I’ve been ready such a very long time for it. So, firing the automobile 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 keep 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 dwelling
Hamilton’s days at Maranello have already developed a way of routine. He begins his mornings by operating 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 a substitute, he has plans to purchase a spot in Milan — a metropolis of excessive style and brief espressos — the place he has a community of associates to maintain him firm and meet for espresso.
Even a house in Milan would end in a two-hour commute every solution to Maranello, although, which is why his motorhome — the identical one he stays in at European races — has been so precious throughout his early weeks on the group. Greater than anything, the comfort of staying on the manufacturing unit grounds has helped him maximise a commodity that’s in more and more brief provide: time.
Lewis Hamilton formally turned a Ferrari driver in January, studying the methods of the famed Italian marque over the previous a number of weeks. Photograph by Sam Bloxham/Getty Pictures
“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 stated. “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 unit have grow to be 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 identified to proceed over the eating desk of his motorhome at lunch — one other clear advantage of his momentary live-work lodging.
“The biggest challenge is getting ready,” Hamilton informed ESPN in an unique interview. “I keep in mind in my earlier group once I joined, it wasn’t till six months [later] I gained my first race. It takes time to construct relationships, to construct belief with all people, to grasp how an organisation works, how persons are tuned to work, how one can present up for folks 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 trying to shake arms with each worker. Eager to make an excellent first impression, he provided his customary vise-like handshake to roughly 1,500 folks, leading to an aching forearm by the second day and a chilly the next week.
What Hamilton has seen on the group over the previous month has clearly impressed him, although. It’s nonetheless early days, however he’s already satisfied Ferrari has every part 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 stated. “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 staff are native Italians. Hamilton has lengthy harbored a need to be bilingual and is now making an attempt to realize that aim by taking one-on-one Italian classes in his spare time.
Within the late Nineteen Nineties and early 2000s, Hamilton’s karting profession noticed him compete frequently in Italy, permitting him to select up a number of helpful phrases. That publicity to the language as an adolescent has given him a place to begin to construct upon now that he has grow to be 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 group and eager to study the language. I keep in mind working with a mechanic and eager to try to choose up a few 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.”
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Hamilton has already practiced his Italian on his new mechanics in the course of the handful of check 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 undoubtedly exhausting to all the time retain and keep 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 assessments. His debut was driving a 2023-spec automobile at Fiorano, finishing 30 laps in entrance of his new group, members of his household (together with his father, mom and stepmother) and 1000’s of the group’s followers, referred to as Tifosi, who crowded a close-by flyover that gives a view of the observe.
Remarkably for a driver with 356 race begins to his title, Hamilton nonetheless had some pinch-me moments as he ready for his first drive. Whereas visiting the restroom forward of his first run, he acquired 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 check occurred on the Circuit Barcelona-Catalunya and was all the time going to be a much less ceremonial affair. Once more within the 2023 automobile, he shared cockpit time with teammate Charles Leclerc, with the intention of getting used to the automobile’s techniques, a brand new steering wheel structure and Ferrari’s trackside procedures.
It was at that check that he misplaced management of the automobile and broken it in opposition to the limitations. Hamilton was positive, however sources recommend the notoriously wind-sensitive SF-23 caught him off guard as he was beginning to discover the bounds of its efficiency. Such accidents will not be unusual in non-public assessments and, as unusual because it sounds, Hamilton could have realized concerning the limitations of Ferrari’s newest technology of ground-effect automobiles from the crash.
Lewis Hamilton acquired his first style of Ferrari’s F1 machine for 2025 on the producer’s Fiorano check observe final week. Daniele Venturelli/Getty Pictures
He was again on the identical observe in a 2024-spec Ferrari every week later, albeit in a automobile 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 geared toward gathering as a lot information as attainable concerning the barely narrower tyres that F1 automobiles will race with subsequent yr.
Lastly, he acquired his arms on this yr’s automobile 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 assessments, Hamilton has already began to grasp what adjustments he would possibly must make to be as aggressive as attainable.
“I am definitely having to adapt my driving style,” he stated. “It’s uncommon that you just simply bounce in and it simply suits. For instance, the steering wheel is totally totally different. All of the swap settings are fully totally different. The software program is totally different. I’m having to adapt to that. I’m adapting to a automobile that’s made fairly in a different way to what I’ve labored with previously.
“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 just isn’t underestimating the scale of the problem forward of him. It’ll 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.
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Ferrari’s SF-25 takes to the observe for the primary time
Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc acquired up shut and private with Ferrari’s 2025 challenger, the SF-25, on observe in Fiorano.
“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 stated. “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 very large. The fervour provides to it from the followers, from the range, from the folks inside, for that need 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 harder, Hamilton faces a teammate who already has six years of expertise racing for the group 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 proper foot and have already got an excellent relationship.
They each have pursuits in music, style and are proud homeowners of canines (Hamilton’s British bulldog, Roscoe, met Leclerc’s miniature dachshund, Leo, at Silverstone final yr). After all, 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 group boss Frédéric Vasseur stated 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 automobile was launched, Hamilton was up 3-2 in opposition to Leclerc, though the problem of a brand new recreation had already been accepted.
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How are Ferrari making ready Lewis Hamilton for a title problem?
Laurence Edmondson and Nate Saunders focus on Lewis Hamilton’s non-public assessments with Ferrari.
“We’ve got a great relationship,” Hamilton stated 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 group and nicely embedded on this group.
“He jumps within the automobile 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 once 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 alleged 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 need to go racing on the highest stage.
“Winning the championship for Ferrari would feel like the first,” he stated. “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 motive 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 question in his thoughts that he made the proper resolution in becoming a member of Ferrari. Even trying on the yellow defend 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 stated. “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.”
