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Lewis Hamilton has finally made his first public appearance at Ferrari’s Maranello Formula 1 base.
Following months of speculation about when he would officially start work at his new team, Hamilton posted a photo of himself at Maranello on social media.
“There are some days that you know you’ll remember forever and today, my first as a Ferrari driver, is one of those days. I’ve been lucky enough to have achieved things in my career I never thought possible, but part of me has always held on to that dream of racing in red. I couldn’t be happier to realise that dream today," Hamilton wrote on Instagram.
"Today we start a new era in the history of this iconic team, and I can’t wait to see what story we will write together.”
New era @ScuderiaFerrari pic.twitter.com/EVUjKNC3MO
— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) January 20, 2025
Hamilton’s first day started at Maranello before moving across to the Fiorano track where his first official images as a Ferrari driver were taken in front of company founder Enzo Ferrari’s old house.
He met team boss Fred Vasseur and Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna in the square named after Ferrari legend Michael Schumacher. Ferrari even made an F40 available for the ‘first day’ images as that is Hamilton’s favourite supercar.
Upon returning to Maranello, Hamilton met the management team and Ferrari vice-chairman Piero Ferrari, Enzo’s son, before a day of what Ferrari calls a “total immersion programme”.
This included visiting all the departments to get to know the team, with more technical meetings and briefings scheduled for Tuesday.
Hamilton’s appearance at Maranello marks the start of what will be an intense period for the seven-time world champion in getting used to life at his new home.
Attention will likely be focused this week on his debut run behind the wheel of a Ferrari F1 car – with the Italian squad expected to roll him out in an old car.
What to expect from Hamilton's first week at Ferrari
Utilising what is known as Testing Previous Car rules, Ferrari is likely to make use of the 2023 challenger for a run out at its Fiorano test track in Maranello.
It is understood that the squad remains quite flexible on when exactly this test will take place.
It had been widely reported in the Italian media that Hamilton would be at Maranello on Monday although the test is unlikely to start before Wednesday as Hamilton spends his first couple of days meeting team members, conducting a seat fit, and preparing on the simulator.
Ferrari has kept tight-lipped on releasing in advance any details about when the test will take place.
It is understood that this has been fuelled by the desire not to attract too much fan interest at Maranello, which could cause logistical headaches on the public roads that run around the Fiorano test track if they get too packed.
