Lewis Hamilton’s first day as a Ferrari driver kicked off with a swarm of Tifosi waiting outside the Scuderia’s Maranello facilities to greet the seven-time world champion. The #44 driver seemed to assimilate well with the Italian fans as he was heard speaking elementary Italian with the fans in attendance.
But from where did Hamilton learn the language? Well, as it turns out, the Briton does have passing knowledge of Italian — something he reportedly picked up from his former Mercedes teammate, Nico Rosberg.
Rosberg and Hamilton were best of pals growing up, as they climbed the ladder of motorsport together from their karting days. The German driver is known to be fluent in five languages, including Italian, and imparted some of his skills to Hamilton during their time as teammates in karting.
Back in 2009, the Williams F1 website (the team for whom Rosberg drove at the time) published a news story (as quoted on X (formerly Twitter) where it was revealed that Rosberg had taught the Briton some non-family friendly Italian!
Fast forward to 2024, it was announced early in the year that Hamilton will be moving to Ferrari. With almost an entire year on his hands, the Briton did reveal that he had been taking Italian lessons.
https://t.co/xy9o1Bp6wh pic.twitter.com/e9eBQ3cxNC
— maheen (@rosberggs) January 22, 2025
While speaking to the Tifosi at the Italian GP last year, the 40-year-old lamented just how hard it was to learn the language. When prodded about taking Italian lessons by his then-teammate, George Russell, Hamilton replied, “I’m trying! It’s bloody too hard. It’s so hard.”
The former McLaren and Mercedes driver’s efforts seem to be paying off, though. The videos of him trying to speak in Italian with the Tifosi and his Ferrari Chairman, John Elkann have seen a swarm of positive responses from fans on social media.
And truth be told, it is essential for the seven-time world champion to do so. He comes into a team with a very rich Italian history and pride for its culture. If he wants to assimilate well within the squad and the fandom — to gun for that elusive eighth title — he will need to pull out all the stops to get familiarized with the culture.
