Lewis Hamilton’s first day at Ferrari saw him conduct some simulator runs, meet the team and address some fans in Maranello.
The seven-time champion is the talk of Formula 1 right now after he arrived in Italy to begin a new chapter in his career.
Hamilton’s first Ferrari F1 car run will take place at Fiorano this Wednesday – a run which had to be delayed after poor weather on Monday.
2025 is the final year of the technical regulations and is a free low-risk opportunity for some like Ferrari and Hamilton to hunt for a Drivers’ or Constructors’ Championship.
New teammate Charles Leclerc won’t be giving him an easy ride though, and the Monegasque driver’s six seasons of experience with the team will come in handy.
Hamilton has already requested an adjustment to his 2025 Ferrari car after he wasn’t pleased with the arrangement of his steering wheel. He’s already focused on bringing gains to the team.
Lewis Hamilton’s first Ferrari social media post beats Charles Leclerc to claim F1 record
Hamilton’s Ferrari arrival sparked a state of emergency in Maranello with a lack of resources to deal with the droves of fans descending on the area.
It’s hard to remember as much hype around the arrival of any driver at a team over the last few decades, including Michael Schumacher’s return with Mercedes in 2010.
Fans are so excited for the move, that Hamilton’s first social media post outside the team’s base in Maranello has already attracted 4.9 million likes on Instagram.
It means that he has surpassed new teammate Leclerc for having the most-liked Formula 1 social media post of all time.
Leclerc’s post made last September, after winning a second Italian Grand Prix for the Scuderia racked up 4.6 million likes.
Was moving from Mercedes to Ferrari a good move for Lewis Hamilton?
Hamilton broke a promise that he would always be a Mercedes driver to join Ferrari for the next two seasons.
On current form, Ferrari ended the 2024 season quicker than their German rivals and it wasn’t particularly close either.
The caveat comes with the 2026 technical regulations, where Mercedes are rumoured to have made a very strong start on their power unit.
READ MORE: Ferrari fans leave ‘welcome’ message for Lewis Hamilton at Fiorano ahead of his first day of F1 testing
The grid always reshuffles when new rules come into force and it’s possible that for short-term pain (putting less effort into 2025) they could reap some handsome long-term benefits.
Ferrari have inherited the technical feedback and experience of a seven-time champion though, so no matter how they start the next regulations, they will be on track to compete.
