Lewis Hamilton has had a monumental week with Ferrari, although he hasn’t but made his official debut with the staff. On Tuesday, he made his first public look in Ferrari colours on the F1 75 occasion held in London.
On the occasion, British F1 followers stood out for his or her widespread show of Ferrari’s iconic purple – a uncommon sight, significantly for a British driver. The gang erupted in cheers as Lewis Hamilton took the stage on the O2 Enviornment, the place he was met with an amazing present of help.
In the course of the occasion, Ferrari additionally unveiled their SF-25 livery earlier than rapidly jetting again to Italy. The staff’s drivers then took to the observe for the primary time with the brand new automotive. Charles Leclerc was the primary to hit the observe on Wednesday morning, adopted by Lewis Hamilton within the afternoon.
The seven-time world champion has been busy finishing an intensive personal testing program over the winter. He has pushed the 2023 Ferrari at Fiorano and the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, the latter of which noticed a crash, and has additionally examined final yr’s automotive across the Spanish Grand Prix circuit on 2026-spec Pirelli tires.
Subsequent week, Lewis Hamilton will take part in what’s prone to be his most important check but when groups collect in Bahrain for the pre-season testing. All eyes shall be on the onboard footage and lap occasions to gauge his consolation degree with the brand new equipment.
The British driver’s formal debut with Ferrari will happen at the Australian Grand Prix on March 16, and his first race in entrance of the passionate Tifosi will come on the Emilia Romagna GP two months later.
The thrill surrounding Lewis Hamilton’s transfer to Ferrari stays palpable, with Karun Chandhok among the many many excited concerning the prospect. Extensively thought to be probably the most important driver transfers in Method 1 historical past, Hamilton’s change to Ferrari marks a partnership that has now mixed for 22 drivers’ titles and an unbelievable 353 race wins.
Although it’s been over a yr for the reason that switch was introduced and a month since Lewis Hamilton’s first check with the staff, the anticipation continues to construct. Solely a poor begin to the season may doubtlessly diminish the hype at this stage. Nevertheless, Liberty Media, F1’s business rights holders, are hoping that Lewis Hamilton’s transfer will convey a surge of worldwide curiosity from the very starting. On his Instagram story, Sky Sports activities F1 pundit Karun Chandhok revealed that Lewis Hamilton’s switch is one in every of his main sources of pleasure for the upcoming season. He’s already counting down the times to Melbourne. He wrote that there have been solely 24 days left till the primary F1 race of the season and that the thrill surrounding Lewis Hamilton’s transfer to Ferrari was “unreal.”
Lewis Hamilton has reassessed his view of Fernando Alonso after experiencing life at Ferrari for himself.
Hamilton expressed that his enthusiasm for the game stays as excessive because it was again in 2007 when he made his debut with McLaren. He was in a position to safe his first victory on the Canadian Grand Prix by spherical six that season. Nevertheless, he acknowledged that even reaching that very same degree of success wouldn’t measure as much as the feats of Alonso and Sebastian Vettel throughout their time with Ferrari. Alonso made a direct affect by profitable on his Ferrari debut in Bahrain in 2010, and Vettel took victory in simply his second race with the staff in Malaysia.
Now that the British driver has joined Ferrari, he has gained a brand new appreciation for the challenges Alonso and Vettel confronted. He has come to know the complexities of adapting to the staff and its automotive.
Lewis Hamilton’s personal expertise with Ferrari has not been with out its difficulties. He confronted a troublesome weekend on the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne final yr, the place he struggled with qualifying in eleventh place earlier than having to retire from the race as a consequence of engine issues. Whereas the Monegasque driver reportedly skilled some points throughout testing, the Maranello staff is optimistic that they are going to keep away from such reliability issues this season.