Told to learn the Ferrari culture and Italian language, Lewis Hamilton has put his progress in that mission on full display.

That request had come from the former Ferrari team principal, now Formula 1’s president and CEO, Stefano Domenicali, after Hamilton took the plunge in swapping Mercedes for Ferrari after an iconic 12-season stint.

Lewis Hamilton delivers Ferrari speech… in Italian

Hamilton activated an exit clause in his Mercedes contract ahead of the 2024 campaign to agree a multi-year deal with the Scuderia from F1 2025, and is now getting his feet under the table at Ferrari, his four permitted TPC [testing of previous car] days complete as the unveiling of the Ferrari SF-25 on 19 February draws ever closer.

And ahead of his arrival at Ferrari, Hamilton had been urged by Domenicali to embrace the unique culture of Ferrari, effectively the Italian national team.

“He will bring a lot of interest,” Domenicali told Autoracer regarding Hamilton’s Ferrari move.

“He is learning to speak Italian and to understand how to integrate into our culture. I told him, it is fundamental for him to be able to do this as well. In Ferrari he will find a different environment than before.”

And Hamilton showed off the progress he has made when, flanked by new team-mate Charles Leclerc and team principal Fred Vasseur, he delivered a speech to the Ferrari crew at the factory in Italian.

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With Leclerc on the other side of the Ferrari garage, Hamilton goes up against a product of the Ferrari Driver Academy, a racer fluent in Italian and well-accustomed to the Ferrari culture, as he goes into his seventh season with the team.

And former F1 team boss Eddie Jordan believes that it is in these early stages – as Hamilton continued his Ferrari adaptation – that Leclerc will need to make his mark against the seven-time World Champion.

“Leclerc is there now seven years. He knows everybody,” said Jordan on the Formula For Success podcast.

“He knows all the people and what to say, the language. He’s the darling of Maranello.

“However, he will be surprised. I think he had a certain way with him over Carlos Sainz.

“But, as far as I’m concerned, I think Lewis will hit the ground running… well, I think it will take him two or three races.

“I would urge Leclerc to get on his bike in the early stage because that’s when Leclerc is going to show certain amounts of dominance.”

Having been forced to make way for Hamilton’s arrival, Sainz – a four-time grand prix winner – agreed a multi-year deal with Williams.

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