Lewis Hamilton says he “couldn’t be extra excited” as he embarks on his new profession at Ferrari in 2025.
The seven-time champion, whose contract with the Italian crew began on 1 January, mentioned he was “embracing new alternatives, staying hungry, and driving ahead with goal”.
Hamilton selected a put up on LinkedIn to make his first feedback since becoming a member of Ferrari, including: “Let’s make it one to recollect.”
He wrote: “Shifting to Scuderia Ferrari, there’s quite a bit to replicate on.
“To anybody contemplating their subsequent transfer in 2025: embrace the change.
“Whether or not you are switching industries, studying a brand new talent, and even simply taking over new challenges, keep in mind that reinvention is highly effective. Your subsequent alternative is at all times inside attain.”
Hamilton has additionally posted on social media an image of him racing in karting as a boy sporting a helmet in pink, Ferrari’s color.
He joins Ferrari on the eve of his fortieth birthday on 7 January as team-mate to Charles Leclerc in what many within the sport regard because the strongest driver line-up on the grid.
Ferrari completed 2024 on a excessive, narrowly lacking out on beating McLaren to the constructors’ championship.
Leclerc scored extra factors than any driver – and Ferrari greater than any rival crew – from the Dutch Grand Prix, the race after the game’s summer time break, to the tip of the season.
Hamilton has a brief however intense interval to adapt to his new crew earlier than the beginning of the season in Melbourne, Australia on 14-16 March.
Ferrari have given few particulars of their plans for Hamilton, however he’ll go to the manufacturing unit, drive the simulator, and do some days in a 2023 automobile, actions geared toward getting used to the brand new crew and the way in which the automobile is operated.
The 2025 Ferrari shall be launched on 19 February, sooner or later after F1’s first official season launch on the O2 in London.
The official pre-season check days shall be on 26-28 February in Bahrain, with Hamilton and Leclerc dividing their time within the new automobile equally.
Workforce principal Frederic Vasseur mentioned at that Hamilton’s first six weeks with the crew have been “essential”.
“It’s not simple however he’s coming together with his personal expertise,” Vasseur mentioned. “However he’s not the rookie of the 12 months, I’m not fearful in any respect about this. It’s also the continuity of the earlier rules so we’ve some reference. I’m not fearful however it’s true it’s a problem.”
Vasseur expects 2025 to be a detailed battle for the championship between Ferrari, McLaren, Crimson Bull and Mercedes.
