Legendary Lewis Hamilton revved up by new challenge with Ferrari

(CNN) — With the new Formula One season less than a month away, Lewis Hamilton has told CNN Sport that his move to Ferrari is “the challenge that I really needed” and that “the number one goal is to win.”

The seven-time drivers’ world champion sent shockwaves through the sport last year when it was announced he would be realizing his dream of driving in the iconic red of the Italian team, after spending 12 years at Mercedes.

But even he admits that he’s been surprised by the impact his arrival has had at the Italian outfit.

“When I was making the decision, I knew it would be big. Did I know just how big? ‘How long is a piece of string?’” he tells CNN smiling. “It’s been the most exciting couple of months that I can remember having.

“It’s been a big, big step and exciting … Every day’s been something completely new and the challenge that I’m having is something that I really needed. I know I’m exactly where I’m meant to be right this moment.”

Iconic arrival

Hamilton’s move to Ferrari was only his second switch between teams in his near two decades in the sport since his debut in 2007.

The arrival of one of the sport’s most iconic figures to Maranello sent the world of Formula One and Ferrari’s fanbase into a spin.

In his first official day at the team, the 40-year-old posed for a series of photos dressed in a black suit next to a Ferrari F40 supercar with the iconic converted farmhouse of the team’s founder, Enzo Ferrari, in the background.

The photo, which was taken in the same square named after Michael Schumacher with whom he sits level on seven championship titles, is now the most liked F1 Instagram post of all-time.

“I knew exactly what suit I wanted it and how it looked, and I chose the F40 because that’s just a dream, iconic car,” he explains.

“To be in front of that building, the history within all the drivers, you see them take that photo in front of it … I knew it would be an image that would stand the test of time.”

Managing expectations

The prospect of bringing one of the most successful drivers the sport has ever had to partner with an iconic racing brand has raised hopes of the 40-year-old securing what would be a record-breaking eighth drivers’ championship title.

Although his last championship title came in 2020, he finished his Mercedes campaign on a high with two race wins in 2024 after two seasons without victory.

But the competition in 2025 will remain as tough as ever with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen looking to continue his domination with a fifth successive championship and McLaren’s Lando Norris a leading contender to dethrone the Dutchman.

So is Hamilton already allowing himself to dream of standing on the top step of the podium in the red suit of the Prancing Horse?

“Honestly, I haven’t. I genuinely haven’t,” he says. “It’s a very, very steep learning curve, it’s a completely new culture.

“The car is completely different, and it behaves differently to what I’ve experienced, the engine, the control systems, the terminology used for all the set-up, so everything is like a blank canvas and I’m trying to add some of my colors to the already great combination of colors that they have in this organization.”

‘A power that’s unmeasured’

Ferrari’s last driver’s title came all the way back in 2007 with Kimi Raikkonen’s victory and the outfit is without a constructors’ championship since 2008.

Although Hamilton’s partner at Ferrari, Charles LeClerc, finished a distant third in the driver standings, Ferrari pushed McLaren all the way last season, finishing a close second, just 14 points off the Woking-based team.

Hamilton, though, has already witnessed the key ingredients of pride and passion that could help end the team’s title drought.

“I knew that there’s passion within the team, but it’s not ‘til you’re actually in the team that you see it,” he explains.

“I’ve seen and witnessed Ferrari drivers experience it year on year on year, but to actually be in the red suit now and be on the receiving end of it is, ‘Wow’ … I’ve never seen anything like it.

“This team has a hardcore fan base that will rally behind them no matter what at any place, at any time. It’s something quite incredible to see. When you put you that together as a collective that’s a power that’s unmeasured.”

‘Winning is all I care about now’

And nobody more so than Hamilton is aware of the power of reaching an audience within and beyond the racing track.

Hamilton – the sport’s first and only Black world champion – has grown to become its conscience, standing up against injustice and calling for more to be done to address diversity, representation and inclusion in motorsport through his charity, Mission 44.

He has also spread his wings into the field of fashion, culture and music.

And while those projects will continue in earnest, full focus is now on the track. He got his first taste of driving what he hopes will be a title challenging car, the SF-25 model Ferrari, at the manufacturer’s private racetrack in Italy this week.

Focus will then move to preseason testing which starts in Bahrain on February 26 with the opening race following soon after in Melbourne on March 16.

“I’ve got a great rapport with Fred (Vasseur, Team Principal) and the team,” he says

“They understand and embrace the fact that I’m different and I have these other interests, but they’re under no illusion and neither am I that the number one focus and the number one goal is to win in this team, and that’s all I care about right now.”

The-CNN-Wire
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