“This is this!”
Luis Hamilton wandered between the road cars in the Ferrari headquarters in Maranello, Italy.
He stopped for a while after discovering the bright red ferrari F40, one of the rare cars of the manufacturer, in the center. His face, which reached out over the rear spoiler, was full of smiles. He found what he liked most.
It was this kind of wonder that when the world champion Hamilton, who watched and won everything in Formula 1, decided to move to Ferrari, it was this kind of wonder. Despite all the success he enjoyed in Mercedes, there was nothing compared to the history and magic of the most symbolic team of the F1.
The moment I became a Ferrari driver I had dreamed of since childhood, I finally came.
The first day in Maranello took almost a year to create Hamilton. After he spent 12 seasons, he had a shocking decision to leave Mercedes, and he had a hard time in the last year, and it was sometimes awkward, according to himself. It may have been emotional to finish the chapter in Abu Dhabi, but Hamilton knew that it was going to new and interesting things.
In order to announce the beginning of this era of integrating the most successful driver of the F1 and the most successful teams, we had to carefully plan all the details. FRED VASSEUR, head of Ferrari F1 team, was reluctant to hold a large -scale presentation or media event because I didn’t want to add additional tasks or disturbances to the team’s work during the new season.
But it had to make Hamilton the first week he spent in Maranello.
The ‘old’ side of the Ferrari factory (headquarters) was stored in a place divided into the historic parts of the famous facility and the ‘red’. Piazza Michael Schumacher, named after a great figure who won five of the seven F1 titles in Ferrari. On top of that is the house of Enzo Ferrari, the founder of the legendary manufacturer who watched many legends tasting his red car through the window. There is a history wherever you visit Maranello.
Hamilton met Vasseur and Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna before taking a picture next to the F40 outside the house. Hamilton’s costume was also carefully planned by stylist Eric Mcneal. Lubutan boots with red soles. The first official photo of the Ferrari F1 driver Luis Hamilton was a quick word of mouth and became the most favorite picture on the F1 Instagram page in less than 24 hours, and the next morning, I decorated all one side of the Italian sports newspaper.
Hamilton also had time to visit Ferrari’s loyal Tiposi fans. Early in the morning, they gathered outside of Maranello’s factory door and desperately wanted to see their new heroes on the first day.
While in MCLAREN and Mercedes, Hamilton formed a strong bond with fans (known as ‘Team LH’), and Ferrari wants to restart such a relationship.
Hamilton said in a press conference in August, “I don’t know what to expect, but I’m really looking forward to connecting with the community.” It was a good first act to pose and sign up with his fans for a few minutes and sign up with his name. As a result, one of the main brokers who signed with Hamilton and perhaps the most powerful ferrari chairman John Elkann became the bystander.
In 2025, there are many things for both Ferrari and Hamilton. Ferrari has been eliminated only 14 points in the first constructor championship since 2008, and Hamilton is still aiming for the 8th world title. By 2024, his struggle against Mercedes cars spent the season behind George Russell, a teammate. It is an important part of this movement to shake off the punk and to have the superiority that could not win at the point of his power in F1.
As a result, Hamilton made it very important to know new colleagues through the factory tour and follow -up meetings on Monday and Tuesday. Hamilton has always gained strength in a close relationship with his teammates, Peter Bonnington, a lace engineer he compared to his brother. The person who will play the role is Riccardo Adami, an engineer of Carlos Sainz (nicknamed Adami ‘Ricky’) and an engineer of four world champions, SEBASTIAN VETTEL, and now takes on the end of the radio. Hamilton through Gyeongju.
Ferrari plans to drive Hamilton’s first track by driving a 2023 car in Fiorano, a dedicated test track adjacent to the plant on Wednesday. But because it always depends on the weather, the end of January in northern Italy was difficult to predict.
Preparation from Monday and Tuesday included seat fitting and ferrari simulator sampling, giving Hamilton a chance to feel how his new car will work. One of the biggest difficulties he had experienced by 2024 was his confidence and balance of cars., This is especially true when he is brakes on his late and aggressive style. Hamilton was often unable to make the most of the car while walking around. Even if there is nothing comparable to the actual, the simulator would have provided the first reading of what could be expected in Ferrari this year.
Hamilton’s new helmet design this year has returned to the yellow that he first used when he was young when he was young when he was young so that his father could easily find him on the track. Hamilton, who was wearing a helmet and the first classic red Ferrari racing suit, was shared all over the world, raising expectations before his first track running. All I needed was the weather to hit the ball.
Driving around a short on a two -year -old F1 car may not be a special moment, but for Hamilton, it was a day I had dreamed since I played Michael Schumacher in the video game. When I was in my teens, I was wondering what it would be like to sit in the cockpit of a red car.
Hamilton’s first appearance was restrained and heartbreaking, just as Schumacher did in Fiorano at the end of 1995, before he moved to Ferrari next season. Hamilton, who changed to ENZO FERARI’s house into a new red races, walked to a simple garage facility next to the track. The garage was welcomed by the gas station in front of the gas station (and thanks to the team partner shell). team. While engineers were in the process, Hamilton wrote down his small notes to remember.
There were many new faces of Ferrari equipment that Hamilton will know, but some people, including Dad Anthony, watched with more affection. Vasseur worked with Hamilton in the junior category and always opened a way to reunite almost 20 years after maintaining friendly relationships. Team Deputy Principal Jerome d’AMBROSIO and Chassis Technical Director LOIC SERRA worked at Mercedes when Hamilton had Hamilton.
But perhaps the most important and amazing returner was Angela Cullen, Hamilton’s former trainer and performance coach.
Hamilton and Culen worked together for seven years and suddenly divided only two races in the 2023 season. CULLEN is a key part of Hamilton’s internal circle, supervising his physical preparation and helping him before race. She worked at Indycar last year, but now she has returned to Hamilton’s team after signing a contract with PROJECT 44, a management company that manages Hamilton’s business profits. Her return is important for Hamilton, who feels good and comfortable during the big adjustment period of joining a new team.
At 9:16 am, Hamilton came out of the garage and went out to the track. Finally he became a Ferrari F1 driver. Fans and TV cameras gathered at a favorable point overlooking Fiorano to glimpse the famous #44 engraved on Ferrari, including being on the bridge next to the crowded road. The length is not too big for Tipo City.
Testing an old car could not get accurate information on how the new season will proceed, but at least it provided the opportunity to adapt to Ferrari’s work. In 2023, the only winner, not Red Bull, provided the first understanding of the power delivery of the Ferrari engine and the function of the steering wheel, which would be different from what he was familiar with in Mercedes.
Hamilton spent only 30 wheels through several driving in the morning, and then replaced with a slick tire after mounting a wet tire, and there was an image that stopped at the point, but it was not about complete speed or performance. Lace drivers have a long car all year round to limit their personal testing to 1,000 km. In other words, Hamilton’s 89km driving and teammate Charles LeclerC’s 42km driving continues, and more room remains ahead of the new season. Hamilton is planning to go out in Barcelona a few weeks before the first race as a 2025 vehicle on February 19, the day after the F1 Season Launch Event in O2 in London.
Despite his limited driving time or weather, his Ferrari debut was “one of the best feelings in my life.”
After the run, he boarded the black Alpha Romeo Rodka and waved to dozens of fans standing behind the fence. His mother, Carmen, was standing and taking pictures on his cell phone. She watched her son in Ferrari Red for the first time and drank at the moment. Hamilton couldn’t stand the slogan, “Olle!, Olle, Olle, Olle!” Lewis, Lewis! ” That welcomed him. Tifosi has already captured Hamilton’s heart and immediately became a new hero.
Hamilton said, “I already knew how passionate the Ferrari family was from all team members to Tipo City.” “Now to see it as a Ferrari driver, it was a sense of awe. The passion flows through their blood vessels, and it has no choice but to vitality. ”
Ferrari has a perfect balance of making Hamilton’s arrival into ‘moment’ without disturbing the focus of focusing on performance. I know how important this year is this year after the 2024 season, when the 2024 season flows, but the moment of the 2024 season. This week, as the public’s head to the new start is nodding, behind the story of the story was really important for Hamilton.
Hamilton’s love and enthusiasm for F1 was a week that burned again. As he devoted himself to the Mercedes project, despite the hardest time, the fireworks blinked due to the difficulties on the track.
This change is needed for Hamilton, which is a new and ambitious project that contains the history of the expected fan base, the sports of the state, and the history of those who have previously succeeded in Ferrari Red.
Now, on March 16, before the official debut in Australia, we must work hard to make the coordination as smooth as possible before the true Ferrari era begins.
Top photo: Clive Rose, Alessandro Bremec (Getty Images); Design: Will Toolos/Athletic