Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari stint, first announced nearly a year ago, is set to officially begin in the coming weeks when the Briton dons their colors for the first time. Calling the anticipation immense would be an understatement. With reports of his imminent arrival in Maranello, the excitement has reached a fever pitch.
Too much spotlight on a particular team or driver has stirred up some conversations about it hurting the team’s preparations heading into the 2025 season. Rob Smedley, however, insisted that there were no negatives to Hamilton‘s partnership with Ferrari.
Smedley feels that Hamilton won’t take a lot of time to adapt to his new team. “It’s weird for all of us when we see a driver of that stature who makes a change and changes team after being with, having so much success with another team,” he said on the Red Flags podcast.
“But I think you soon get over that, you know, within the first couple of months of the year, he’ll be a Ferrari driver. And it will be like, he’s always been a Ferrari driver.”
Ferrari’s socials have been impeccable since Lewis Hamilton’s arrival pic.twitter.com/CrBItN1TXC
— Autosport (@autosport) January 14, 2025
Of course, to accommodate the seven-time World Champion and have him compete at his best, Ferrari will need to fine-tune the machinery to his liking. Will that affect the way the Italian team works? No, says Smedley.
“I think it’s, it’s great, there’s no negatives,” the ex-Ferrari race engineer said. “There’s no downside to this move, right? Lewis is making a move. If Lewis can win his eighth world championship as a Ferrari driver, it’s a fairy tale.”
Even from Mercedes’ perspective, Smedley saw this as a good move because Hamilton leaving the Brackley-based squad opened the doors for Kimi Antonelli to make his debut in F1.
Fans cannot wait to see Hamilton in red
Several noted names in F1 have spoken about how the Tifosi in Italy are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Hamilton, the man poised to bring Championship success back to the storied Maranello-based outfit. In fact, ahead of his first few sessions behind a Ferrari wheel, the streets are expected to be flooded with admirers.
“A kind of Hamilton mania has already started in Italy,” journalist James Allen said on his podcast. “I cannot imagine the number of people that will be around the track. I’m expecting the Maranello and Fiorano streets will be filled with people.”
For Hamilton, not only will his dream of driving for Ferrari come true, but he will get a chance to go after an eighth World Championship — something his last three years at Mercedes didn’t allow him to do. Anything less than that would be a failure.
