Hamilton recounts his first days in red: “Feeling the vibration of the Ferrari engine for the first time… wow!”

We're slowly starting to get used to it, even if it still seems quite unreal. Lewis Hamilton is now a Ferrari driver and every photo or video that shows the Briton proudly displaying the Prancing Horse over his heart reminds us of this. Nearly a month after his (already iconic) arrival at Maranello, the seven-time world champion was able to acclimatize to his new team and his new colors. On Tuesday, during the ceremony F1 75 Live organized in London, the Englishman appeared publicly for the first time with the red jumpsuit, to the great delight of the British spectators.

Hamilton as a child at Ferrari

The day after this presentation, Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari were quick to return to Maranello to carry out the shakedown of the SF-25, the new weapon of the Italian team in 2025. Since the end of January, the ex-driver Mercedes is racking up laps at the wheel of various Ferraris in order to get into the swing of things and arrive well prepared for the winter tests in Bahrain on February 26. Before flying to Sakhir, the Briton gave first 'interview' to FerrariIn a video published this Wednesday by the Scuderia, Lewis Hamilton looks back on his first days in red and the excitement of driving a Ferrari for the first time.

“I still surprise myself with how much I love what I do, and it all felt so new. I remember putting on my overalls, getting in the car, the excitement… it reminded me of the first time I got into a Formula 1 car 20 years ago, Lewis Hamilton remembers. But this time it was different. I always imagined what it would be like to sit in a cockpit surrounded by red [before joining Ferrari]. I had been waiting for this for so long, so when I started the car it was like starting a new journey. It was the most exciting thing that has happened to me in as long as I can remember.

The Ferrari " has nothing to do with the cars I've had before"

Welcomed as a hero by the tifosi on January 20th On his first day at Maranello, a year after the announcement of his transfer from Mercedes to Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton took his first laps two days later, at Fiorano, in front of spectators who were still as numerous and enthusiastic. The Englishman says he was impressed by the popular fervour surrounding his arrival. "I knew I would see the tifosi on the bridge and I thought: where is the bridge? What bridge are they talking about? And finally, I arrived at the first corner and I saw them, it was incredible to see them and to be received [by them]", assures the new Ferrari driver.

In the lineage of great champions – Schumacher, Lauda, Hag to name but a few – Hamilton was able to taste the joys of driving a car Ferrari. A dream come true for the Briton. “It’s nothing like any car I’ve had before or in the last 10, 12, 17 years. It’s one of a kind. Feeling the vibration of the Ferrari engine for the first time… wow! I think that’s what put the biggest smile on my face. I’ve always seen all the drivers who came before me in red and wondered what that would do to me. It’s a real honour to be able to wear that badge and that suit.” Now, the emotion of the beginnings must give way to concentration and application before the start of the 2025 season, the first meeting of which, in Australia on March 16, will obviously be closely followed by all the tifosi.

ALSO READ > VIDEO – Ferrari SF-25 takes to the track at Fiorano