Formula One celebrated 75 years of the World Championship at a season launch event at the O2 on Tuesday, with all ten teams showcasing their cars. There was little doubt who was the real star of the show for the capacity crowd. Lewis Hamilton received a huge ovation as he made his first public appearance in Ferrari colours, and if any proof was needed of the anticipation that surrounds the new combination, this was it.
Hamilton’s move to Ferrari is perhaps the most talked about in the history of Formula One. He made waves when back in 2013 he switched from his first home at McLaren to the then mediocre Mercedes team. Many fans were puzzled, but his timing was just right.
Mercedes got off to a flying start with the new hybrid engines, and Hamilton rode a wave of success, adding six World Championships to the one he’d already won at McLaren. The momentum ran out in 2022 when Mercedes struggled with new aerodynamic rules, and Hamilton endured a couple of tough seasons in which he failed to win a race.
It was over the course of last winter that the prospect of joining Ferrari became real. His name had been associated with the team over the years, but never seriously. This time it was different, mainly because the team had a new boss in Fred Vasseur. Hamilton drove for the Frenchman’s team in 2005-06 in Formula 3 and GP2, the final stepping stones on the ladder from his humble origins in karting to the dizzy heights of Grand Prix racing.
Vasseur himself then graduated to F1, moving through management roles at Renault and Sauber before being headhunted by Ferrari. The presence of someone he knew and trusted at the helm made Ferrari a more attractive proposition for Hamilton. Vasseur in turn felt that bringing the seven-time world champion on board would be the final step towards making Ferrari the team to beat, even if it meant turfing out the talented Carlos Sainz.
Then there was the bonus on the commercial side, and what a marriage of the Ferrari and Hamilton brands could achieve selling road cars and attracting sponsorship. The move finally became reality last month. Hamilton’s first day at the team’s Maranello base achieved huge traction on social media.
He was photographed looking impeccable in suit, tie and black coat, posing by a classic 1980s F40 model and in front of founder Enzo Ferrari’s iconic former office. He also toured the factory, meeting hundreds of staff and gingerly practising the Italian that he has been learning to fully immerse himself in the culture.
“It’s a really exciting moment,” he says of that first day. “Because you get to see just how passionate, how committed every single person is, clearly. That you share the same dream as every single one of those people, and you get to now be a part of each other’s dream, is quite unique, and just still very, very surreal.”.
He then took to the Fiorano test track - a rite of passage for any new Ferrari F1 driver - for his first laps in a 2023 model before logging more miles in older cars prior to a first run in the brand-new SF-25. He’s also been spending as much time as possible at the factory to get to know his new colleagues and understand how the team operates.
There’s no great mystery why Hamilton made the jump last winter. He was about to head into his 12th season with Mercedes, he hadn’t won a race for a couple of years, and his 40th birthday was a year away. He wanted a change, a different environment that would reboot his motivation and give him a few more years to chase the elusive eighth World Championship.
Ferrari had upward momentum, just as Mercedes did when he joined. “We’re working towards something really exciting,” he says. “I’m also trying to just always arrive every day with a real open mind. I’m learning a lot every day. I guess I knew that I needed something new. I knew I needed this new challenge.
“I think when I got here I realised just how much I needed it, and how great it’s felt, and I’m literally walking around with such a big smile on my face every day I come to work. It’s very revitalising.”. The big question now is how things play out on track.
At 40, Hamilton’s benchmark is 27-year-old team-mate Charles Leclerc, who is heading into his seventh year as a Ferrari driver. The Monaco native has youth and knowledge of the team on his side, while Hamilton brings his vast experience and the generational talent that has made him the most successful driver in history.
