Sir Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time Formula One World Champion arrived at the Scuderia Ferrari HP headquarters in Maranello Italy, last week.
His arrival marked the start of what is already an iconic partnership between the most successful driver in F1 history and the team with the same accolade. The start of this historic collaboration was marked with a photo of Hamilton in front of the famous Ferrari farmhouse, which was shared on Instagram.
“There are some days that you know you’ll remember forever and today, my first as a Ferrari driver, is one of those days. I’ve been lucky enough to have achieved things in my career I never thought possible, but part of me has always held on to that dream of racing in red. I couldn’t be happier to realise that dream today.
Today we start a new era in the history of this iconic team, and I can’t wait to see what story we will write together.” Lewis Hamilton via Instagram.
During his first week as a Ferrari driver, Hamilton toured the Maranello factory, meeting team personnel and visiting the pit garage before hopping into the cockpit of a Ferrari for the first time. Hamilton took to the track on a cloudy day at the team’s Fiorano track, applauded by the ever-passionate Tifossi who had camped out for a chance to see the seven-time World Champion drive by.
Hamilton, who raced for Mercedes AMG-Petronas Formula One Team for twelve years, announced his departure from the team in February of 2024. The news came as a shock to the Formula One community as Hamilton and Mercedes were the most successful driver-team pairing in the history of the sport. Together they achieved eight consecutive World Constructors Championships and six of Hamilton’s World Driver’s Championships. Individually, the British driver holds the record for most wins (105), most pole positions (104), most podiums (202), and more. During his debut season in 2007 with McLaren, Hamilton was the first Black driver in F1 and he stormed onto the scene, achieving twelve podiums, and four wins.
Throughout its 75-year tenure, Scuderia Ferrari has boasted an impressive 16 Constructors and 15 Drivers titles. Despite its historic legacy, the Scuderia has been searching for a title to add to its collection since its last title in 2008.
Off the track, Hamilton is an entrepreneur and advocate for diversity in sports and beyond, and a fashion lover. Almave, a non-alcoholic blue agave spirit was launched in 2023 and is the first of its kind. Hamilton has taken his lived experience as the only person of colour in his field for much of his life and created Mission 44, “a charity working to build a fairer, more inclusive future for young people around the world,”(Mission 44).
It is an exciting time for Formula One and motorsport fans as the long-awaited partnership between Sir Lewis Hamilton and Scuderia Ferrari HP begins. Hamilton is expected to continue test driving the car, before attending a Pirelli test later this year. As for the fans, we will be counting down the days until lights-out in Melbourne.
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