Lewis Hamilton making the switch to Ferrari is one of the year’s biggest stories as he attempts to win an eighth world championship with the Maranello squad.
The seven-time world champion has already been pictured at their Italian headquarters ahead of a private test session, in which he will take to the Fiorano test track in a 2023 Ferrari.
F1 fans were impressed by Hamilton’s attire, as he was pictured next to an F40 supercar wearing a suit. In the background of the image was Enzo Ferrari’s old house, with seven windows pictured and a door to an eighth – perhaps a bit of symbolism from Ferrari.
Hamilton moving to Ferrari has been speculated for many years in F1, given every driver dreams of racing for them at some point in their career while the Briton had achieved everything he could have wanted at Mercedes.
There is a lot of anticipation around the move, but Damon Hill thinks there is one thing that could take the ‘fizz’ when discussing it in his book Lights Out, Full Throttle.
Uncompetitive Ferrari could take the ‘fizz’ out of Lewis Hamilton’s move says Damon Hill
Hamilton will be trying to achieve something that has not happened since Jack Brabham in 1966 by winning a title at 40 years old, with Juan Manuel Fangio the last Ferrari driver to win a title at that age.
The seven-time world champion signed a multi-year contract nearly a year ago, but Hill thinks there is one thing that could make Hamilton leave early.
“What certainly would make a difference is if Ferrari gave him a bad car. If that happened the fizz would go right out of it. It wouldn’t matter how much money they were paying him,” said Hill.
“If Lewis Hamilton was in an uncompetitive car he’d be out of that team faster than a scalded cat.”
Lewis Hamilton’s first F1 test with Ferrari
Hamilton is set to take part in his first test with Ferrari at Fiorano in a 2023 car, as is permitted within the regulations.
It will be a great opportunity for the seven-time world champion to acquaint himself with his new engineering team, which will consist of Sebastian Vettel’s old team including race engineer Riccardo Adami.
READ MORE: Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton’s life outside F1 from net worth to family
Hamilton has already had a seat fit for the car and made changes to his steering wheel, the latter being something that he was heavily involved with at Mercedes.
Anthony Davidson is hopeful that Hamilton can recapture his ‘magic’ at Ferrari, having spent the last three seasons without a car that can challenge for titles.
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