Inside Lewis Hamilton's dream Ferrari debut: JONATHAN McEVOY takes you behind the scenes in Maranello to reveal how Lewis has already won over the 'Tifosi' and an exclusive dinner at Michael Schumacher's favourite restaurant
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Maranello isn't pretty; it's an industrial town. But it's a romantic place more than anything else. You only had to stand on the long bridge on Via Giardini at 8am on Wednesday. It was not a spot for the thin-blooded, yet little girls in bobble hats, an old man next to me on crutches, teenagers and grown-ups, defied toe-freezing temperatures for the sight they craved.
![[Hamilton fulfilled his dream in doing so - he has made the move to join them from Mercedes]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/22/17/94400215-14313887-image-a-25_1737567326500.jpg)
They didn't know when it would arrive at Ferrari's private Fiorano test track. So the keenest and hardiest had gathered by 7am. Others came a day earlier just in case. Yet it was at 9.17am when an engine's banshee scream emitted the signal for what was fast approaching. Many of the congregation scrambled for their phones. The bridge, where we now thronged up to 10 deep, is close to the opening corners so the amateur cameramen had to act quickly.
![[Hundreds of Tifosi risked their ligaments on the wet grassy bank to get closer to the action]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/22/17/94400259-14313887-image-a-26_1737567331558.jpg)
The subject of fascination waved as he went by, and then all we could hear again, as he dipped out of view through a thick fog that would have brought the M25 to a standstill, was the engine. And in those brief seconds Lewis Hamilton fulfilled his dream to drive a Ferrari.
![[They chanted Hamilton's name as Hamilton went past as if he was coming out of a cloud]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/22/17/94400251-14313887-image-a-27_1737567386743.jpg)
Thousands gathered in Maranello to watch Lewis Hamilton drive a Ferrari for the first time. Hamilton fulfilled his dream in doing so - he has made the move to join them from Mercedes. Hundreds of Tifosi risked their ligaments on the wet grassy bank to get closer to the action.
![[Everyone wanted to get a glimpse - and a picture - of the seven-time champion in Ferrari red]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/22/19/94403303-14313887-image-a-46_1737572859874.jpg)
