‘I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be’ – Hamilton insists Ferrari have ‘every ingredient’ to win a world title

Lewis Hamilton is living his best life. The seven-time World Champion made a dream move to Ferrari for this season and he pretty much hasn’t stopped smiling since.

“I’m getting the biggest buzz every time just putting my kit on,” he said when we caught up via video link not long after he got his first taste of a Ferrari with a shakedown at Fiorano as part of a filming day.

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“I walk out and there’s the Ferrari sign, and I’m like ‘I’m actually really here’. I’m in this beautiful old building that Enzo had his office in.

“Each day, I’m reminded that it’s really happening. I’m really proud of the shield. And I just want to work as hard as I can with the great people to elevate them and the brand as high as possible.”

There has been so much chat over the years about Hamilton potentially joining F1’s most famous team Ferrari – so it’s no surprise that not only was it headline-topping news when he signed on the dotted line but also that those first few days at his new home in Maranello last month were so “invigorating” for him.

The whirlwind that comes with being a Ferrari driver has swept him up.

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“The first week was definitely very emotional,” he says. “Every time we arrive here [at Fiorano, the team’s private test track], you see the crowd, you see everyone in the garage. It’s always emotional.

“I saw John [Elkann, Ferrari chairman] today, we’ve been friends for years. Did we ever know we would be working together? The hope was there. We needed the stars to align and they did finally.

“There’s a lot of love in this team – and passion, and the drive to succeed – there’s no lack of that, that’s for sure.”

A 'completely new chapter'

The last three seasons have been painful for Hamilton as Mercedes – the team with which he won six of his seven World Championships – failed to get to grips with the latest generation of ground-effect racing cars.

Unsurprisingly, he wasn’t in his happy place and you could see the toll it was taking on him as one difficult weekend followed another. He proved he could still operate at his peak – as he showed with a stunning win on home soil at the British Grand Prix – but he wasn’t used to such inconsistency, particularly when it came to one-lap speed.

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The chance to move to Ferrari, in what is the twilight of his career, has already delivered the rejuvenation that he so desperately needed as he looks to clinch a record eighth world championship.

“It's a completely new chapter,” says the 40-year-old. “The previous chapters have been as great as they could be. I genuinely feel like I’m exactly where I am supposed to be.

“It feels natural. Just the timing, it couldn’t have been better for me. It’s invigorating to have this new burst of energy.

“I never thought in this part of my life I would have this excitement each day. I’m getting to work with a new group of people. I’m massively challenged with the hurdles that are ahead in terms of learning as fast as you can to be ready to fight for a championship, but we’re doing everything we can to make sure we can be as ready as we can be.”

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'I do believe this team has absolutely everything to win'

The smile and sense of contentment that adorned Hamilton’s face from the very first word of this interview remained throughout – and that is despite him operating on a couple of hours sleep after landing at 4am having played chess with new team mate Charles Leclerc during the flight after the F1 75 Live launch event.

Whether that smile remains will come down in large part to the quality of the machinery Ferrari deliver him and it’s far too early to judge that given they’ve only done a handful of laps on a small track.

But from what Hamilton has seen in his first few weeks, he’s optimistic the team has the tools to get the job done.

“I do believe this team has absolutely everything to win – we’ve just got to build one step at a time,” he adds. “We don’t know what everyone else is bringing.

“We’ll just get to Bahrain and we’ll just keep our head down and focus on doing our job and maximising our three days. And we’ll see how we are when we turn up to Melbourne [which hosts the first Grand Prix of the season on 14-16 March).

“One thing is for sure, no stone will be unturned and we just keep on pushing. There’s a massive push here, which is great to see.”

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When speaking to written media he added: “I've worked with two World Championship-winning teams before, and I know what a winning team looks and feels like.

“The passion here is like nothing you have ever seen. They have got every ingredient they need to win a World Championship, it's just about putting all the pieces together.”

Title number eight?

Is Hamilton thinking about winning an eighth world championship? “To me, it would be the first,” he responds. “Winning the championship for Ferrari is the first. That's what I'm working towards.

“I don't think about the number eight. I'm thinking about the first championship that the team's won for some time, although they've already had many, many World Championships over the history.

“So, for me, it's looking for that first one with the team, and right now it's about how can I contribute to that? How can I help them achieve that?”

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A championship win for Ferrari would take his legend to an all-new level – but if there was still any doubt about just how invigorated Hamilton is by this move, the seven-time World Champion confirmed just how hungry he is to keep going.

"If I was fortunate enough to win another title, which is obviously what we are setting out to do, I don't see myself stopping."

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