The day Lewis Hamiton finally drives a Ferrari Formula 1 car is nearing closer. The seven-time world champion’s deal with the Maranello outfit became official at the turn of the new year.
Hamilton’s transfer to Ferrari marks just the second time in his career that he has moved teams. The 39-year-old made the switch to Mercedes from McLaren in 2013.
While that move was fairly plain sailing given McLaren’s connections to Mercedes as their engine supplier, Hamilton will have to get accustomed to a whole new environment, with a new language and a new country.
Ferrari will be looking to integrate Hamilton into the team as quickly as possible to prepare him for their title challenge in 2025. Hamilton secretly visited Maranello before signing his contract, similar to what Carlos Sainz did before he moved from McLaren in 2021.
Ferrari have already arranged two tests for Hamilton in January before pre-season testing in Bahrain. The first is set to take place at the team’s private track at Fiorano, but they could relocate to Mugello or Imola if bad weather prevents them from running where they originally planned.
Hamilton could also complete a 2026 Pirelli tyre test as part of his Ferrari preparations to get used to the technicalities of the 2026 regulations.
Emerson Fittipaldi says Italy is ‘going to stop’ to watch Lewis Hamilton’s debut with Ferrari
The Brit’s first appearance in a Ferrari will mark a historic day for F1. But Ferrari want to avoid a ‘media circus’ as they look to give Hamilton as few distractions as possible to prepare him for 2025.
But two-time F1 champion Emerson Fittipaldi thinks the attention will be fully on the 39-year-old when he gets behind the wheel of the famous red car.
Speaking on talkSPORT’s On Track podcast, the Brazilian says the whole of Italy is ‘going to stop’ as they eagerly watch Hamilton’s Ferrari debut.
“Ferrari’s coming back strong. [You] can imagine Lewis at Ferrari next year. The whole [of] Italy is going to stop on Sunday, to watch Lewis drive a Ferrari!
“Lewis’ motivation, [it’s a] challenge to have a new team like Ferrari. Every driver has a dream to drive for Ferrari.
“And I think that at the stage of his life, to be able to go to Ferrari, with Frederic Vasseur, who was his team [principal] in Formula 3 and Formula 2. The family’s getting back together again and that’s going to be a big challenge.
“I’m looking forward to seeing next season, should be very exciting for Lewis and Formula 1 is getting extremely competitive now.”
What Sebastian Vettel has said about Lewis Hamilton’s new race engineer Riccardo Adami
As aforementioned, Hamilton will have to get used to new surroundings and personnel at Ferrari. His Mercedes race engineer and close friend Peter Bonnington did not follow Hamilton to Ferrari, ending an incredible 12-year relationship.
Working with new team members will be a daunting prospect, but it seems the Brit is already familiar with his 2025 colleagues after Hamilton greeted Ferrari mechanics in Italian in Abu Dhabi.
READ MORE: Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton’s life outside F1 from net worth to family
The 39-year-old’s race engineer at Ferrari is set to be Riccardo Adami. The Italian has had plenty of experience in F1 having worked with the likes of Sebastian Vettel and Sainz.
Hamilton has already asked Vettel about Adami as he looks to establish a bond with his new engineer like he did with Bonnington.
Vettel has spoken highly about Adami and how much he values being at Ferrari, which will be very helpful for Hamilton in his bid to make his new adventure a successful one.
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