INTERVIEW: Lewis Hamilton on the “magic” at Ferrari and feeling a “new lease of life"

For so long it appeared Hamilton would hang up his helmet as a Mercedes driver, a bond forged from his junior days that continued into his formative years with McLaren, a team that helped him win his first world title in 2008. A further six followed with the works outfit en route to becoming the most successful driver in F1 history.

When Hamilton announced last year that the then-upcoming 2024 campaign would be his last with Mercedes and that – at the age of 40 – he would be joining Ferrari, the shock was seismic, the reverberations continuing until he donned the Ferrari red overalls for the first time in this January. The move was very real.

From the outside, switching from one Formula 1 team to another may appear relatively straightforward. It is not.

Hamilton's integration has been considerable, a veritable crash course that has resulted in him pitching his motorhome at Ferrari's headquarters in Maranello to be as on-hand as possible. He has even conducted meetings with engineers inside.

Hamilton is learning new names, faces, procedures, and processes at an alarming rate. This is designed to ensure that when he takes to the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne on Sunday 14^th March for the opening Grand Prix of the season, he will be as ready as possible. Even then, it may not be enough.

Of course, the same goes for any driver when they switch teams, though there is something a little different in Hamilton's case in that he had been with Mercedes for 12 years. They were as comfortable with one another as wearing a pair of old slippers. He has never been so far out of his comfort zone than in these first few weeks with Ferrari.

But, in watching and listening to him conduct his first interviews as a Ferrari driver these past few days, there is a gleam in his eye and an effervescence in his voice that were no longer present during the close of his time with Mercedes.

"I definitely did not think going into my 19^th season in Formula 1 that I would be this excited," said Hamilton. "I never thought at this point in my career I would have so much excitement being at work, wanting to be at work early, wanting to put in the extra levels of work to achieve the dream.

"But here I am. It really is like a new lease of life. I've just felt this new way of life and energy, which I've received from everyone here, from the fans, from the way people have reacted to my joining. Of course, you've got a few people that will still say a negative thing here and there, but it doesn't touch what we're doing and what we're working towards."

In joining Ferrari, Hamilton concedes to an appreciation for those who have gone before him, such as Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso, in particular, who departed teams with which they were seemingly embedded to take up the challenge of further cementing their legacies with the Scuderia.

After four titles with Red Bull, Vettel tried and failed at Ferrari to add a fifth, finishing second to Hamilton's Mercedes dominance in both 2017 and 2018. As for Alonso, he was with Renault for six out of seven seasons (one infamous year with McLaren aside ), missing out on a third Drivers' Championship on three occasions in finishing runner-up to Vettel.

"We've watched over the years drivers moving around, some a lot more than others," said Hamilton. "I know how long it takes to build trust and grow within a team, grow with people. I experienced that with Mercedes and McLaren. I really cherished the longevity I had within those spaces and the bonds we created in that time. They don't happen overnight.

"But this step is huge. It couldn't be any bigger. The organisation is massive, and the passion adds to it, from the fans, from the people within, for that desire to win, and you don't want to let people down. You want to be able to deliver on your work.

"Coming into this year I decided that my resolution, my mentality, would be to elevate in absolutely every area on my side. It's not just me saying this is who I am and I've got to gel in.”

"I've got to elevate myself in my fitness, my time management, how I engage with my engineers, how much time I spend in the factory, all these different things. I've definitely done that, I am doing that, and I will continue to do that in this drive for perfection and to achieve the success I'm aiming to achieve.

"But it is a lot of work, I have to say. It's a whole new culture, a different language, all the new brands that I'm getting to work with. Every day I'm experiencing something new, which actually is really exciting.

"And from the day you join the team to the first race, it's really not a long time. Maybe for you guys it feels drawn out, but it's not. It's very short, and there are no shortcuts you can take. We're putting the work in, and we're grafting."

That graft is towards the obvious goal of winning an eighth World Title. From everything Hamilton has witnessed so far following his arrival at Ferrari, he is convinced it is possible.

"I've worked with two World Championship-winning teams, and I know what a winning team looks and feels like," stated Hamilton.

"Everyone here at Ferrari has a passion like nothing you've ever seen. They've absolutely got every ingredient they need to win a World Championship. It's about putting it all together. But everyone has a really calm, good approach. No one's like ‘we're perfect in every single area’. They're like ‘we need to elevate everywhere’, and they're leaving no stone unturned to try and do that."

Ferrari has not won a Constructors' Championship since 2008, running McLaren close last season but falling short by 14 points. Its last Drivers’ Champion was Kimi Räikkönen the previous year.

It is a long title drought for the most storied team in Formula 1, which Hamilton knows all too well. He may naturally have personal ambitions but he also knows just what it would mean for every single team member, and every Ferrari fan, for the team to be Constructors' Champions again.

"I'm aware there are a lot of drivers that never get to win a World Championship, first and foremost," said Hamilton. "I've been fortunate to previously work with two teams, two great organisations. We've seen, in the history of the sport, where you've got great teams but things don't align, and they end up not winning World Championships.

"This team already has an insane legacy. In their DNA, they have that winning mentality, but the competition is fierce, and there have been great results from other iconic teams: McLaren, Red Bull, and obviously, Mercedes. It's going to be close at the top.

"But I've a great team-mate, and the energy I'm receiving from the team, there's magic here. It's still going to take a lot of hard work and graft from absolutely everyone, and everyone's putting that in already to achieve it.

"It's also about belief, and everyone here, every single person, dreams of winning [titles] with Ferrari."

Images courtesy of Getty Images.