Lewis Hamilton says he is “exactly where I am supposed to be” after a first emotional day on the right track in Ferrari’s new car.
After the launch of the Formula 1 season of the previous night in London, Hamilton took the wheel of the new Ferrari SF-25 on Wednesday for the first time on the team’s Fiorano test track.
Thousands of fans – the most dressed in Ferrari Red – had gathered in front of the fences surrounding the track to have an overview of their new hero.
Some even cut a tree for a better view.
Invited to choose a word to describe the sensations of the day, Hamilton had trouble at the start, but he insisted that he wanted to do better than the suggestion of “very well”, before setting up on “emotional” .
“Of course, I have seen from the outside Ferrari over the years, drivers over the years and how they have been received by their fans,” the tifosi “, said Hamilton.
“But I think that when you are there, it’s something more special than you can imagine. You cannot know until you get there and experience it. And it was really beautiful to see.
Hamilton, 40, shocked the world of motorsport last year when he announced that he was leaving Mercedes to join Ferrari.
The British driver had been at Mercedes for 11 years and won six of his seven titles with the Arrows Silver.
“We know that we have a lot of work to do, I know that I have a lot of work to do. I still acclimatize, I have only been here for a little over a month, “said Hamilton. “So I acclimatize to a completely new car, completely new to work.
“But everyone looked back in this team to make me feel welcome. And I really feel at home. I know that I am exactly where I am supposed to be. It’s natural. It feels good.
Hamilton will line up alongside Charles Leclerc, who has been in Ferrari since 2019.
The Leclerc, 27, said that it was already “the best team mentality” that he felt in his time at the Italian Scuderia.
“I have already worked with two winning teams in the world championship,” said Hamilton. “I know what a winning team looks like.
“The passion here is not like nothing you have seen. They have absolutely all the ingredients they need to win a world championship. And it is simply a question of gathering all the pieces.
However, Ferrari did not win the title of pilot from Kimi Raikkonen in 2007.
Leclerc finished second in 2022 and finished third last year after finishing the season with three podiums in the last four races while Ferrari began to show signs of being able to face Red Bull.
Hamilton knows that the expectations of him are Sky High.
“This step is enormous, it could not be bigger,” he said. You don’t want to drop people, you want to be able to deliver on your word. So how I decided to arrive this year, my resolution, my mentality is that I have to raise absolutely in all areas on my side.
“This is not only that I am and that I have just gelled, I have to raise in everything: my physical form, my time management, how I engage with my engineers, how long I spend in The factory, all these different things. And I definitely did that and I do that. And I will continue to do it in this effort for perfection and to succeed in the success I have to achieve. »»
The last Hamilton championship took place in 2020 and it rose to an eighth record title of the final of the 2021 season until a controversial finish gave the title to Max Verstappen, which has since won four consecutive titles with Red Bull.
If Hamilton wins this eighth elusive championship this season, he will become the third oldest F1 champion.
“If I had the chance to win another title, which is obviously what we propose to do, I do not see myself stopping,” said Hamilton.
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AP Auto Racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
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