Piero Ferrari, son of Ferrari founder Enzo Ferrari, has no concerns about Lewis Hamilton’s ability heading into his first season with the Scuderia. The legendary Brit starts a new career chapter after his most challenging F1 campaign to date in 2024.
Hamilton will look back on the 2024 season with mixed feelings. In his final season with Mercedes, the Brit ended a 945-day drought to return to the podium’s top step at the British Grand Prix. In doing so, he became the first F1 driver to win at the same racetrack nine times.
The 40-year-old achieved a second win in Belgium a few weeks later, albeit in unfortunate circumstances, as he was promoted to P1 after team-mate George Russell was disqualified following a post-race inspection.
Despite these two standout moments, the overall tale of the year was one of underlying frustrations. Hamilton repeatedly struggled in qualifying, losing out 19-5 to Russell throughout the season, and was forced to use his immense race pace to recover on Sundays.
Some pundits speculated that Hamilton may be past his prime, but Piero has no such concerns. “True, but he is fit, both physically and mentally, it doesn’t seem to me that age is a problem,” he told Autosprint. “He accepted the challenge with enormous enthusiasm, so he is confident in his abilities.”
The seven-time world champion’s adaptation process has already begun. In mid-January, Hamilton enjoyed his first week as a Ferrari star, visiting the Maranello factory, meeting his new engineers and team-mates, and posing for some instantly iconic photos.
His family was also in attendance, with father Anthony Hamilton, mother Carmen, and stepmother Linda in Maranello, as the former McLaren and Mercedes driver stepped behind the wheel at the Fiorano test track facility.
Along with the team personnel and close family, Hamilton was cheered on by thousands of members of the Tifosi. Fans lined the barriers on the outskirts of the track to cheer on the team’s new recruit, and the 40-year-old responded by walking over to wave at them after his test session.
The support, according to Piero, took Hamilton’s father by surprise. “The whole extended family was there,” he said. “I had a chat with his dad, a nice person. He, too, was surprised by the warmth of those who had waited for Lewis at the edge of the track.”
