“Lewis Has Got to a Point Where He Almost Transcends F1”: Journo on Impact of Hamilton’s Ferrari Move

It has just been a week since Lewis Hamilton started work at Ferrari and he has already captivated the attention of fans around the world, particularly in Italy. There were over 1,000 fans who were camping near the Fiorano circuit to witness Hamilton’s first drive in a scarlet red car. It is safe to say that the seven-time world champion’s aura is transcending F1 itself.

“Lewis has got to a point where he almost transcends F1,” F1 journalist Sam Coop said on the Racing News 365 podcast before explaining how fans do not care whether Hamilton performs well or not.

They are just delighted to see him in Rosso Corsa at the Scuderia and see the two biggest entities of F1 join forces. Coop then explained how the excitement surrounding Hamilton‘s move to Ferrari is similar to what Michael Schumacher received when he moved to the Prancing Horse, back in 1996.

And since the numbers that Hamilton has achieved are quite similar to what Schumacher received, Coop believes it would only be “poetic” if the British driver manages to win a record eighth title with Ferrari to beat the German’s record. With the Maranello outfit having been on the up since last year, the expectations are sky-high.

Many are hopeful that the move of a seven-time champion like Hamilton is the impetus that Ferrari needs to end their title drought, having last won the championship in 2008.

The excitement that Hamilton jumping ship to Maranello has brought among fans is already showing by the sheer number of likes the Italian team’s social media handles have received for their posts.

Several Ferrari posts break social media records

Hamilton has a habit of breaking records and he broke several after just his first few days at Maranello. His first picture outside Enzo Ferrari’s house and beside a Ferrari F40 has received over a whopping 5.6 million likes on Instagram.

The buzz about his arrival at Maranello has also had a ripple effect on other posts of Ferrari. For example, a post of Charles Leclerc’s viral video from last season has crossed over a record 100 million views.

While Leclerc’s post has no connection to Hamilton whatsoever, it is interesting that this landmark was only crossed after Hamilton’s arrival in Maranello despite the video being posted last year. Moreover, Ferrari’s share price also increased by 10% last year, soon after the Briton’s switch was confirmed, coupled with the fact that the Italian company also announced a splendid Q4 result.

And that’s not it, because per Sponsorlytix, an AI-powered sports data analytics company, the simple act of Hamilton posing in Ferrari overalls helped several of the team’s sponsors generate a combined $400,000 brand value.