Lewis Hamilton is finally making his debut for Ferrari at the Australian Grand Prix. It’s the weekend the F1 world has been waiting for ever since his announcement in February 2024.
From the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix to Abu Dhabi last December, Hamilton started every single race in Mercedes colours. No driver has ever made as many appearances for one team.
But in what’s likely to be the last major move of his F1 career, Hamilton chose to join Ferrari. His Mercedes contract covered the 2025 season, but he had the option to walk away after one year.
Speaking at the F1 75 launch in London, where he predictably received the loudest cheers of any driver, Hamilton said he felt ‘reinvigorated’. The early rounds of the season will confirm whether last year’s disappointment was an aberration.
The consensus is that Hamilton has built up renewed motivation and energy after a somewhat stale end to his time at Mercedes. But that may count for little if he remains at odds with this generation of F1 cars, or if he’s simply in decline after turning 40.
Martin Brundle has predicted that Hamilton will win multiple races for Ferrari this season. Fernando Alonso took victory on debut in 2010, while Sebastian Vettel stood on the top step in just his second outing in 2015.
Martin Brundle received ‘deadpan’ responses from Lewis Hamilton when he asked about Ferrari
Speaking ahead of FP1 in Melbourne, Brundle suggested that Hamilton had concealed his true feelings about Ferrari for years. When asked whether he’d like to drive for the Italian marquee, he used to insist that he was ‘a Mercedes man’.
Indeed, the external expectation was that Hamilton would finish his career at Brackley. But now it seems he always had this move in his mind.
Fred Vasseur claims Hamilton has dreamed of Ferrari for 20 years, having managed him on his ascent up the junior ladder. The Scuderia are almost universally regarded as the most iconic team on the grid, and have achieved the most success.
| RANK | TEAM | WINS | WDC | WCC |
| 1 | Ferrari | 248 | 15 | 16 |
| 2 | McLaren | 189 | 12 | 9 |
| 3 | Williams | 114 | 7 | 9 |
| 4 | Mercedes | 127 | 9 | 8 |
| 5 | Red Bull | 122 | 8 | 6 |
Brundle remarked upon Hamilton’s enthusiasm about the small details at Ferrari, including his race suit and the car livery. There’s been a youthful excitement about the second-oldest driver on the grid.
The Sky Sports pundit said: “How many times did we ask Lewis if he’d ever want to drive for Ferrari? He’d say, deadpan, ‘no, I’m a Mercedes man’. And now he keeps talking about, ‘I’m dressed in red, the car’s red, this is amazing’.”
What Lewis Hamilton has told F1 boss about his first months at Ferrari
Hamilton’s transfer undeniably has a Hollywood feel to it. He’s pursuing a record-breaking eighth world championship before he retires and looking to heal his Abu Dhabi 2021 heartbreak.
But any title will be extremely hard to come by. He must first adapt to the car’s handling and form an elite-level working relationship with his engineers.
Hamilton complained to Ferrari about understeer throughout Friday’s practice sessions. They must find a way to iron that out before qualifying.
But his work ethic certainly isn’t question. Hamilton told F1 boss Stefano Domenicali he’s sleeping at Maranello, Ferrari’s factory, to maximise the productivity of each day.
