Lewis Hamilton is convinced Ferrari will give him the chance to win his eighth world championship, describing his “magic” new team as having everything in place to compete.
Hamilton has been reinvigorated by his switch from Mercedes and he and his teammate Charles Leclerc drove their new challenger, the SF‑25, for the first time in a shakedown run at the team’s test track at Fiorano on Wednesday. Afterwards the British driver gave an unequivocal “yes” when asked if he believed he could secure a record eighth title with the Scuderia.
“This team already has an insane legacy, they are not short in how many world championships they have won,” Hamilton said. “In their DNA they have that winning mentality but the competition is fierce. We have had great results from other teams like McLaren, Red Bull and Mercedes. It’s going to be close at the top but I have a great teammate.
“The energy I am receiving from the team, there is magic here. It’s going to take a lot of hard work and grafting from absolutely everyone and everyone is putting that in already to achieve it but it’s also about belief. Everyone here dreams of winning with Ferrari, every single person in this team.”
Hamilton has been working extensively at Ferrari’s base in Maranello for the past month, acclimatising himself with the team, including meeting and shaking hands with all 1,500 employees. What he has observed has left him optimistic and he was clear when asked if he thought Ferrari were ready to win the championship. “Yes, I have worked with two world championship-winning teams before, I know what a winning team looks and feels like,” he said.
“The passion here is like nothing you have ever seen, they have absolutely every ingredient you need to win a world championship and it’s just about putting all the pieces together.”
He is impressed by Frédéric Vasseur, the Scuderia team principal, and John Elkann and Benedetto Vigna, executives of the parent company. “We have a great leader in Fred and John and Benedetto, so everyone has a really calm and good approach, no believes they are perfect and everyone wants to elevate in every area and we are leaving no stone unturned to try and do that.”
Vasseur, who is now entering his third season in charge at Ferrari and worked with Hamilton when the British driver drove for his ART team in GP2 in 2006, had no doubts he would be an invaluable asset. “The pace is there, I have no doubt,” the team principal said. “He isn’t the same, he is 20 years older than when we worked together first. He is changing, he is much more mature and much more experienced and he is the perfect fit with the team. It is exactly what I was looking for, for the team, for me, for Charles. I think it is the perfect combination.”
Last season Ferrari ended strongly with an enormously competitive car. They were second in the constructors’ championship, 14 points behind McLaren. With what has been described as a comprehensive evolution of last year’s car they will expect to be in the mix from the off.
Vasseur has stated his goal is to win both titles and he believes that Hamilton and Leclerc will enjoy a robust but healthy rivalry. “As a team, if we want to perform we need to have two drivers performing,” he said. “We need to have two drivers in a kind of competition, a positive competition and a positive emulation. I’m sure that will be the case.”
The season’s first race is the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on 16 March.
