Lewis Hamilton spent the first 18 seasons of his Formula 1 career with teams based in Britain. He started out, of course, at McLaren, one of the country’s most iconic motorsport brands.
McLaren are based in Woking, a town in Surrey. His next team, Mercedes, may play the German national anthem on the podium, but their headquarters are in Brackley – only around 70 miles away from his first employers.
For some F1 fans, being British and supporting Hamilton went hand-in-hand. He’s had two compatriots on the other side of the garage – Jenson Button at McLaren (2010-2012) and George Russell at Mercedes (2022-2024).
But now he’s joined Ferrari, the only team without a facility in the UK. After Sauber/Audi announced a new base in the ‘motorsport valley’, they’re the last holdout.
Ferrari are effectively Italy’s national team. Racing Bulls hail from Faenza, but they’re aligning even more closely with Red Bull as they set up shop on the Milton Keynes campus.
Hamilton has begun learning Italian as he seeks to form a bond with the Tifosi. But that hasn’t dulled his connection with his traditional supporters.
Craig Slater notices ‘lots and lots’ of British F1 fans wearing Ferrari clothing
Sky Sports F1 presenter Craig Slater reported from London before the F1 75 season launch on Tuesday. It was Hamilton’s first official appearance in Ferrari colours – though a few thousand had caught a glimpse of him at Maranello in January.
Slater noticed an abundance of fans wearing Ferrari merchandise, an unusual sight. Previously, the Scuderia’s drivers – be it Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso or Michael Schumacher – have been the nemeses of British heroes.
But Ferrari’s popularity in the country should increase now that they’ve signed Hamilton. He’s the first Briton to don their iconic scarlet red (full-time) since Eddie Irvine, who left in 1999.
Slater, incidentally, suspects that Hamilton has brought many of his Mercedes supporters with him. There’s a split among F1 fans in terms of rooting for drivers or teams.
“Take a look at this,” he said. “This is something you don’t normally see in the UK – lots and lots of people in Ferrari colours. Formerly, maybe some of these people would have been in Mercedes clothing!”
Lewis Hamilton has just two words for Ferrari fans after driving their new F1 car
Hamilton drove the 2025 Ferrari F1 car for the first time on Wednesday. Together with Charles Leclerc and Fred Vasseur, he flew straight back from London to Maranello in time for the shakedown.
Compared to his time at Mercedes, Hamilton says he’s having ‘fun’ in testing. He did crash the 2023 Ferrari in Barcelona, but that hasn’t undercut the joy of fulfilling a career-long dream.
Hamilton simply wrote ‘Grazie Tifosi’ on his X account after the filming day. There was a comparable crowd to his first test, and he once again went to greet them.
The most important date of all is 16 March – his official Ferrari debut at the Australian Grand Prix. Hamilton wants to emulate Alonso by standing on the top step at the very first opportunity.
