At age 40, Formula One legend Lewis Hamilton believes he is entering the most exciting period of his life.
Having won a record-equalling seven world titles - six with Mercedes and one at McLaren - the British superstar begins his career at Ferrari this weekend after his high-profile switch.
"This is very reminiscent probably of my first year (at McLaren in 2007)," Hamilton said.
"For all those years I've gone up and down the paddock, looking at and seeing the red garage (of Ferrari), and now I'm actually in the red garage.
"It's a really nice feeling.
"The whole team (at Ferrari) works completely differently.
"You're looking at things from a different perspective, which makes it exciting and challenging.
"This is definitely the most exciting period of my life, so I'm really just enjoying it."
Having come off three disappointing seasons, going nowhere near matching it with four-time defending champion Max Verstappen, Hamilton is quietly optimistic about what he can achieve at Ferrari.
"The pressure that I've put on myself has always been 10 times higher than any other pressure that can be put upon me," he said.
"I've not been made to feel any pressure on joining this team."
The man he replaced at Ferrari, Carlos Sainz, is the defending champion at Albert Park after his surprise win last year.
After moving to Williams, Sainz believes Hamilton is a strong chance to win at Ferrari.
But Hamilton is still learning about the Ferrari heritage, responding in bemused fashion to a question about the Italian links in Melbourne.
"I really didn't know that ... I have not met any Italians here," he said.
"I've been coming here a long time ... Italians are everywhere you go.
"Coming to Australia, the only other culture I really knew of is the Aborigines."
