Lewis Hamilton is the first Formula 1 world champion to join Ferrari since Sebastian Vettel in 2015. Vettel won 14 races with the Scuderia, but couldn’t topple the Mercedes dynasty.
Vettel replaced Fernando Alonso as the teammate of 2007 title winner Kimi Raikkonen. They would race alongside one another for four seasons, with the German clearly the team leader.
Ferrari privately believed Vettel wasn’t as good as Hamilton, but they wanted a faster benchmark to prove their theory. An ageing Raikkonen was rarely able to beat the sister car.
That’s partly why the Scuderia promoted Charles Leclerc for the 2019 season after a year of adaptation at Sauber. Sure enough, Leclerc immediately beat Vettel in the championship, and that effectively spelt the end of his time at Maranello.
By the time the Covid-delayed 2020 season got underway the following summer, Ferrari had announced Vettel’s departure. McLaren driver Carlos Sainz arrived in his place.
Hamilton is Ferrari’s first truly blockbuster signing for a decade. But he joins a 40-year-old desperate to prove – to himself and to the wider F1 world – he’s still good enough to win titles.
Lewis Hamilton started using a notebook in Ferrari garage – just like Sebastian Vettel
Hamilton wasn’t happy with Ferrari’s pedals during his first test at Fiorano on Wednesday. They will need to be ‘adapted’ before he makes his full debut for the team.
Subtle changes like this are inevitable when a new driver joins a team. It’s all about ensuring maximum comfort behind the wheel.
Indeed, Ferrari have already adjusted their seating position, moving it slightly further back in the car. Hamilton complained about being too far forward during his time at Mercedes.
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To explain what he meant to new race engineer Riccardo Adami, Hamilton pulled out a notebook and drew a ‘sketch’ of the cockpit. A report from Motorsport Italy notes the similarity with Vettel.
Using a notebook was one of his ‘obsessions’ at the ‘beginning of his adventure’ with Ferrari. The former Red Bull driver would take notes during conversations with engineers, and also write down his feedback after each run to ensure he didn’t miss any detail.
Lewis Hamilton’s first words on the team radio as a Ferrari driver
Hamilton generated far more hype than Vettel when he reported to Ferrari’s HQ this week. A four-figure audience travelled to Fiorano to catch a glimpse of his test.
They only saw Hamilton complete around 90km of running on what was a misty, damp morning. Far more extensive tests are planned for the remainder of the off-season.
On Friday, Ferrari released Hamilton’s first radio message from the cockpit. He sounded emotional as he said ‘wow’ and called it an ‘amazing’ experience.
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