Lewis Hamilton’s arrival and subsequent adaptation to driving for Ferrari has been one of the biggest stories of the Formula 1 off-season.
Thousands turned up to witness Hamilton’s first run at Fiorano and he will be at the centre of everyone’s attention when he rocks up in Bahrain for pre-season testing.
Hamilton will have to share the three days of running at the Bahrain International Circuit with new Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc.
That will likely put him on the back foot, to begin with this season as although both drivers will have equal time in Ferrari’s 2025 car, Leclerc has much more experience when it comes to working with the Italian team.
However, one thing that Hamilton can do at Maranello is get as accustomed as possible to working with his new colleagues.
After 12 seasons with Mercedes, he would have known all the smallest intricacies of that organisation.
Ferrari is a completely new environment for the 40-year-old and not only that, he also has to win over the infamous hard-to-please Tifosi.
Michael Schumacher is the most successful driver in Ferrari’s history, and while he’s revered in Maranello now, that wasn’t always the case.
Hamilton has just done something while speaking to Ferrari’s employees that will help the team’s fans warm to him even faster than they already have done after his brief appearances in red over the past few weeks.
Lewis Hamilton gives speech in Italian to Ferrari fans ahead of the 2025 F1 season
Video footage emerged of Hamilton reading a speech off his phone in Italian to Ferrari staff, receiving plenty of encouragement from the crowd as he did so.
A report from Autoracer shared exactly what he said, with the seven-time world champion’s message translated as: “Thank you all for your warm welcome.
“I am happy to begin this new adventure with you, in Ferrari.
“It has always been my dream to be part of this team. I can’t wait to work with you. Thank you.”
Lewis Hamilton drives on the track during the first day of tests as a Scuderia Ferrari F1 driver at the Fiorano Circuit in Maranello, Italy, on Jan…
Journalist Jose M. Zapico explained on social media that this was something that Schumacher never did initially during his time with Ferrari.
He said: “Schumacher was never liked in Italy. He was more appreciated after his departure from Ferrari, he was called ‘The German’ and ‘Sochmacher’, which is a very ugly thing to say.
“He was criticised for never speaking a word of Italian. Lewis, he has taken the trouble to at least read it on his iPhone.”
What was Michael Schumacher’s reputation like at Ferrari at the start of his spell with the team?
A report from ESPN back in 2001 gives more details about the feeling Ferrari fans had for Schumacher just after he had won his first title with the team.
At the unveiling of that season’s car, Schumacher defended himself and said: “I am not a movie star, either things come naturally or they don’t. You can’t “learn” emotions.
He had been accused of being less emotional towards Ferrari than teammate Rubens Barrichello and the report from ESPN said that Schumacher had previously been seen as ‘cold and aloof’ before crying on the podium at Monza the previous season.
Schumacher admitted that he had always felt emotions towards Ferrari adding, “even if they were not always visible.
“Believe me I’ve cried before but you didn’t see me and I’ve laughed before but you didn’t see me.
“I have blood inside me. I am a human as well, there is just a different level where it happens.”
It was also telling that Schumacher spoke in Italian at this car launch, something that was ‘well received’ among the fans in the crowd.
Hamilton has clearly taken a page out of Schumacher’s book and while he hasn’t learned to speak Italian fluently, and may never have to given the team mainly functions in English, it’s very much appreciated that he’s gone to the extra effort of speaking in the team’s native language.
He’ll hope his performances on the track only enhance his reputation with Formula 1’s most passionate fanbase over the coming months.
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