Lewis Hamilton Ready To Making Ferrari Great Again

As Lewis Hamilton prepares for his highly anticipated debut with Ferrari, the seven-time world champion has assured fans that they can expect an exciting and enjoyable journey ahead. Hamilton’s move from Mercedes to the iconic Italian team has been the talk of the Formula 1 world during the off-season.

Speaking with ESPN’s Nicole Briscoe for SportsCenter, Hamilton discussed the challenges and thrills of his new venture. “Firstly, the step I’ve taken, I knew it was a massive challenge. And that’s exciting,” he said. “I’m getting out of my comfort zone. I was comfortable where I was, I’d been there for many years, knew the environment, knew where and when I couldn’t turn up, I knew how everything worked. I’m coming into this new space and it’s so, so different, it’s a different culture, a different language, and it is a massive challenge but I love the challenge, I always have, even since I was a kid. That’s what spurs me on.”

Hamilton, who signed a multi-year deal with Ferrari, is aiming to end the team’s drivers’ title drought, which dates back to 2007 – the year he entered the sport as a rookie with McLaren. If successful, he would also secure an unprecedented eighth world championship.

While there have been instances of Ferrari drivers winning on their debut, such as Juan Manuel Fangio, Nigel Mansell, Kimi Raikkonen, and Fernando Alonso, Hamilton remains realistic about the time it may take to achieve success. “I’m also conscious that everything doesn’t have to happen in the first day or the first month. I’m here for more than a year and we’re going to go on this rollercoaster journey together. It’s going to be a rollercoaster ride, but a really fun one. And we’re going to make it great,” he added.

Drawing from his experience of joining Mercedes in 2013, where he claimed just a single victory in his first year despite going on to win six world championships with the team, Hamilton emphasized the importance of building relationships and trust within the team. “The biggest challenge is getting ready,” he said. “I remember in my previous team I joined, it wasn’t until six months until I won my first race. It takes time to build relationships, to build trust with everybody, to understand how an organisation works, how people are tuned to work, how you can show up for people and get the best out of them, and vice versa. There’s not really a shortcut for that. So I would say that’s the biggest challenge is, how can I blend in with this team? How can I merge with everyone here?”

Hamilton also touched on the technical challenges of adapting to a new car and team, stating, “I feel really aligned with everyone here but in the car it’s completely different. The messages they send me are much different than what I’ve experienced before. Everything that comes on the dash is different. The whole set up of the front and the rear … It’s all different. To achieve something similar, but the terminology is different. Jeez, I could go on and on and on. But when there’s a will, there’s a way and we are putting in as much work as we can.”

As Hamilton gears up for his official Ferrari debut at the Australian Grand Prix on March 16, fans eagerly await the start of what promises to be a thrilling new chapter in the British driver’s illustrious career…