Lewis Hamilton “knew in his head” he wanted to drive for Ferrari one day as far back as 2004, according to team principal Fred Vasseur.

Hamilton and Vasseur have known each other since Hamilton’s junior racing days, with the seven-time World Champion having driven for Vasseur while he ran ART Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton ‘knew in his head’ he would be Ferrari driver as a junior – Vasseur

Hamilton ended a career-long association with Mercedes power at the end of 2024 as he makes his move to Ferrari official, with the switch having been announced early last year.

He is set to take part in Ferrari’s traditional ‘wake-up test’ later in January for his first outing in red, with the Scuderia set to unveil their 2025 challenger at London’s O2 Arena on February 18.

Hamilton has spoken since the move was announced about having wanted to be a Ferrari driver at some point in his career, and Vasseur revealed those conversations took place even when he was a junior driver.

“It was not difficult to convince Lewis,” Vasseur said at the Festival dello Sport, quoted by RacingNews365.

“I can remember when we were together in the Formula 3 Euro Series in 2004.

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“Then he had a contract with the then McLaren-Mercedes, but he already knew in his head that he would go to Ferrari one day.

“We talked a lot about it. He has had this wish in the back of his mind, although a driver of his calibre wants to make sure he gets a package that allows him to be competitive.

“That is always at the forefront of Lewis’ mind. And for him to dare to make this transfer, for me that confirms that we will soon be able to build good cars. That is the ultimate goal.

“A driver like Lewis doesn’t just want to sit back. I think we can offer him the right place in that respect.

“We are working on a big step forward. I can already reveal that we are putting all available resources into the next project.”

Hamilton and new team-mate Charles Leclerc will take part in pre-season testing in Bahrain together between February 26-28 in Sakhir, before the season gets underway in Australia from March 14-16.

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