Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari may be the biggest storyline in the upcoming season of Drive to Survive. Netflix are releasing the newest instalment of their smash hit documentary in a week’s time.
Ferrari announced the capture of Hamilton at the start of February, around a month before the season started. The split with Mercedes was difficult as the Englishman slipped outside the top six in the championship for the first time in his career.
Hamilton’s seismic move contributed to a driver market eruption. The availability of Carlos Sainz in particular changed the plans of multiple midfield teams.
Even before the seventh has released, Netflix have already commissioned an eighth Drive to Survive season. Their production crews are present in the paddock for testing in Bahrain.
Hamilton has continued to attract more publicity than any other driver. Before his first outing on Wednesday, most of the photographers at the circuit were stationed outside the Ferrari garage.
This is, after all, surely the biggest driver transfer in F1 history. Legendary figures have joined marquee teams before, but Hamilton is the most famous name the sport has ever produced.
What Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz agreed to do in F1 paddock conversation
Hamilton was seen in conversation with Sainz, now racing for Williams, on Friday morning. Charles Leclerc was driving the Ferrari before lunch, while Sainz’s test concluded at the end of day two.
The pair appeared to be on good terms. Sainz was most hurt by the lack of interest from top teams, rather than Ferrari’s decision to let him go.
He recognised that the opportunity to sign Hamilton was unique. And based on the friendly interaction in Sakhir, he has no personal grievances with the 40-year-old.
F1 reporter Chris Medland noted that ‘there were a few laughs’ exchanged, but inevitably they attracted the attention of the Drive to Survive crew, who ‘got a mic in there’. Hamilton and Sainz then agreed to continue their discussion ‘without so many cameras around’.
The drivers Lewis Hamilton has been studying at Ferrari ahead of his debut
Karun Chandhok compared Hamilton to Michael Schumacher after what he saw in the Ferrari garage on day two. Chairman John Elkann has flown into testing, an exceedingly rare sight.
Ferrari are hopeful that the Leclerc/Hamilton combination can end the championship drought that stretches back to the late noughties. But the commercial significance of his arrival is undeniably enormous too.
Fernando Alonso won on his debut for the Scuderia at the 2010 Bahrain GP, while Sebastian Vettel only needed two rounds in 2015. A repeat this year would be a dream scenario for Elkann and co.
To that end, Hamilton has been ‘looking into’ Alonso and Vettel’s preparations for their debut. He’s trying to control expectations for the opening races by stressing the extent of the task.
