A look back at Lewis Hamilton’s first day at Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton has officially begun his new adventure at Maranello. The Briton will make his track debut with Ferrari on January 22 at the Fiorano circuit, at the wheel of the F1-75 for the 2022 Formula 1 season.
Lewis Hamilton was photographed in front of Enzo Ferrari’s iconic office on his first day with his new F1 team. He posted a photo where he appears in a suit, posing in front of the legendary red and white building, alongside a Ferrari supercar.
January 20 marks the first official day of Lewis Hamilton in Maranello, before a potential simulator session. The seven-time world champion is expected to drive the Ferrari car from the 2022 season later this week at the team’s home circuit in Fiorano. On social media, the Brit announced the beginning of a new era.
A first with the Italian team
Joining Charles Leclerc at Scuderia for the upcoming season after spending 12 years with Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton went to Maranello on Monday morning to prepare for his first outing in red.
Lewis Hamilton took advantage of this visit to familiarize himself with his new team. He notably met the team director, Frédéric Vasseur—whom he knows well for having won two consecutive titles under his guidance at ASM/ART in the F3 Euro Series and GP2 in 2005 and 2006—as well as the CEO of Ferrari, Benedetto Vigna, and the vice-president Piero Ferrari. The Briton also got acquainted with his new race engineer, Riccardo Adami, who previously worked with Carlos Sainz.
His seat was prepared for testing, and Lewis Hamilton made sure the requested adjustments on the steering wheel were made. He then conducted a first session on the simulator to acclimate to his new environment.
Read also: Fred Vasseur discusses his talks with Lewis Hamilton that led to his transfer to Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton back on track soon?
Other work is scheduled for this afternoon and tomorrow, with, according to Ferrari, more technical meetings and briefings to prepare Lewis Hamilton for his first test day at Fiorano.
“There are days that you know you will remember forever, and today, my first as a Ferrari driver, is one of them,” he stated on social media.
I have been fortunate enough to achieve things in my career that I never thought possible, but a part of me has always held onto this dream of racing in red. I couldn’t be happier to achieve this dream today.
Today, we begin a new era in the history of this iconic team, and I can’t wait to see what story we will write together.
This highly publicized transfer has sparked great enthusiasm among the tifosi, to the point that, according to some Italian media, the hotels in the Sassuolo region are fully booked. The mayor of Maranello, Luigi Zironi, has requested enhanced security measures from the police, particularly to regulate traffic around the factory and the circuit.
Wednesday, Lewis Hamilton will share the track with Charles Leclerc before conducting further tests at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya later this month, although these plans have not yet been confirmed. Ferrari plans to use the 1000 km of testing allowed on previous cars by the F1 sporting regulations for 2025 to optimize the integration of their new recruit.
