Hamilton realizing Ferrari dream with 'total immersion' on first day

Lewis Hamilton has begun work at Ferrari with “total immersion” into the team at Maranello, saying he is realizing a career dream. The seven-time world champion, signed by Ferrari to race alongside Charles Leclerc, made his first visit to Maranello as a Ferrari driver on Monday, being greeted by team principal Fred Vasseur and CEO Benedetto Vigna at the iconic home of Enzo Ferrari at the Fiorano test track. Hamilton posed for photos with what Ferrari describes as his favorite supercar – the F40 – in the square named after Michael Schumacher, with whom Hamilton shares the record for most drivers’ titles in Formula 1. Following a visit into Enzo Ferrari’s old office and the pit garage at Fiorano, Hamilton then met with senior management and Enzo’s son Piero Ferrari in the team’s factory, before spending time with multiple departments at Maranello. “There are some days that you know you’ll remember forever and today, my first as a Scuderia Ferrari HP driver, is one of those days,” Hamilton said. “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 realize that dream today. “I’m incredibly grateful to John Elkann, Benedetto Vigna, Fred Vasseur and everyone at Ferrari for their trust in me and making me part of this family. I’m so excited to start this new era and to meet and work with a hugely talented and inspiring group of people. I’m dedicated to bringing everything I have to deliver for the team, the wider organization and the fans. “Today we start a new chapter in the history of this iconic team, and I can’t wait to see what story we will write together.” Hamilton will remain at Maranello on Tuesday for more technical meetings and briefings ahead of a planned testing of previous car (TPC) outing in Italy later this month. Simply announcing the developments relating to Hamilton’s first day at Ferrari shows the scale of his signing for the team, with huge interest surrounding the partnership between the driver with the most race victories in F1 history and the sport’s most successful constructor.