It’s most likely lower than a month earlier than Lewis Hamilton’s debut in a Ferrari F1 (which ought to happen behind the wheel of a 2022 F1-75), however his presence is already the primary subject. Throughout this week’s media assembly at Maranello, the subject of ‘Lewis’ was broadly mentioned, rising in lots of the factors touched upon.
It might hardly be in any other case; the debut of essentially the most profitable driver in Components 1 historical past behind the wheel of a Ferrari is destined to remain within the highlight for a very long time. After the 2024 season, Frederic Vasseur additionally broke the embargo on the Lewis Hamilton subject, which had been in place since February 1, the day his signing was introduced.
“It wasn’t troublesome to persuade Lewis concerning the validity of the Ferrari choice for his future,” defined Frederic Vasseur, as reported by the BBC. “In 2023 we gained extra races than Mercedes, so it wasn’t sophisticated to persuade him that he would discover a good mission at Ferrari. I imagine he had in thoughts to drive for Ferrari for a minimum of 20 years. I keep in mind we have been already speaking about it in 2004 (when Hamilton was approached by Frederic Vasseur to affix his F3 workforce), however typically it’s additionally a matter of coincidences or aligning the planets. It simply so occurred that he was in the marketplace and Ferrari had a seat obtainable to supply him. We began discussing it a yr in the past, and it wasn’t onerous to persuade him.” – the French supervisor identified.
At Ferrari, there aren’t any doubts about Hamilton’s kind, and the ultimate steadiness of the 2024 season (through which he completed the championship behind teammate George Russell) doesn’t increase issues.
“I don’t wish to level fingers at Lewis or Mercedes,” defined Frederic Vasseur. “However I’m satisfied that the scenario they discovered themselves in wasn’t simple to handle. I imagine (Lewis) wasn’t in excellent psychological form, it was fairly evident in Brazil, however within the final two races, he carried out very effectively, and I’m not in any respect frightened about it.”
There isn’t any signal of concern relating to the connection between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc both. “They’ve an enormous mutual respect,” confirmed Frederic Vasseur. “They know one another effectively and have been speaking for months. Additionally, I add, it’s a lot better to battle for first and second place than for nineteenth and twentieth. What I imply is that it’s a great signal for a workforce to have these sorts of discussions.”
Beginning in early January, Lewis Hamilton will face a rigorous schedule to settle in forward of the primary official exams in Bahrain. The exams with the 2022 automobile (not but formally confirmed by Ferrari) will serve to familiarize him with the workforce and dealing procedures.
“It gained’t be simple,” concluded Fred Vasseur. “However Lewis is definitely not a newbie; he comes with a wealth of expertise, and I’m not in any respect frightened about that. Within the Bahrain exams, he should take in many issues, however we’ve the benefit of having the ability to work on the simulator, the place he can attempt each race simulations and qualifying simulations and be well-prepared for managing the controls on the steering wheel. I don’t suppose this would be the greatest problem we face.”
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