Lewis Hamilton is just months away from realizing his lifelong dream of becoming a Ferrari driver. The coming together of two of F1’s biggest names has already kickstarted ‘Championship winning’ predictions for the Maranello-based outfit. Team Principal Fred Vasseur, however, insists that his mere presence will take them nowhere.
Speaking to Italian newspaper La Repubblica, Vasseur reveals what he expects Hamilton to do once he becomes a Ferrari driver,
“He will certainly bring speed on the track but not only that. He will also bring his knowledge outside the car, on how to approach the weekend. He is someone who knows how to put pressure on the team with the aim of achieving excellence. That will drive us a lot,”
Being one of the most experienced drivers on the grid, Hamilton will be expected to be the team leader from the get-go. For a Championship-starved outfit like Ferrari, slip-ups cannot be tolerated, especially if there are multiple contenders on the track.
Statistically, no driver has won more than Lewis Hamilton has in F1. This is what makes the Stevenage-born driver’s move to Ferrari perfect (on paper).
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Meanwhile, the seven-time World Champion continues to make Ferrari’s stocks rise away from the track. As soon as his future arrival was announced, the Italian stable gained 232,000 followers on Instagram, which was 12,000 more than their average monthly gain.
The idea of working with Charles Leclerc too was an appealing prospect, with a picture of the two posted by Ferrari becoming their most liked of the year. Ferrari’s market cap also saw a surge following this news, as it reached an all-time high of $70 billion. While this ‘Lewis Hamilton effect’ is promising, Vasseur wants to see similar levels of success on the track.
Lewis Hamilton carrying expectations of success-hungry Tifosi fans
Ferrari is the most successful F1 team of all time, but haven’t been on the top step of the podium since 2008. Hamilton, with his arrival, looks to change that. He too, is vying for his eighth World Championship and Ferrari seems like the best fit for him to achieve the same.
Hamilton, likely, won’t take a lot of time to win over the Tifosi, who desperately want success. However, former Ferrari race engineer Rob Smedley still has some words of advice for the Briton.
Lewis about how he’s dealing with the ‘awkwardness’ of being asked about Ferrari and asked to sign Ferrari caps, while he’s still with Mercedes :
“in terms of how fans have responded, it’s been great, because I’m kind of mingling with fans from both teams”#MiamiGP pic.twitter.com/YDEe6jvm6x
— Hamilton Insights (@LH44_insights) May 3, 2024
Pointing out how “unique” the Tifosi are, Smedley claimed Ferrari is perhaps the only “national team” in F1. Each fan lines up in support of the team’s drivers, and Smedley reckons Hamilton will love it. Furthermore, should the 39-year-old be able to win, he will be treated like royalty. He will never have to pay at restaurants and the public will always be extra nice with him.
On the other hand, getting on their bad side is equally unforgiving. If one doesn’t do well, the fans will make it very clear that the driver isn’t welcome. The only ‘cheat code’ to winning the Italian fans over, is to win.
