Lewis Hamilton has arrived at Maranello as a Ferrari driver

No, this isn’t a scene from a remake of The Godfather: Lewis Hamilton has been pictured at Maranello for the first time as a Ferrari driver. Which is quite a moment, even for a seven-time F1 champion.

It’s almost a year since the team made Hamilton an offer he couldn’t refuse, but he’s now only a couple of days away from taking to the track at Fiorano, according to reports.

Hamilton, who turned 40 a couple of weeks ago, is then set to appear in those famous red overalls at the F1 season launch on 18 February, before jetting back to Italy for the full car reveal the very next day.

Pre-season testing kicks off on 26 February in Bahrain, with the first race of the 2025 calendar a fortnight later in Melbourne, Australia.

“There are some days that you know you’ll remember forever and today, my first as a Ferrari driver, is one of those days,” said Lewis on Instagram. “I’ve been lucky enough to have achieved things in my career I never thought possible, but part of me has always held on to that dream of racing in red. I couldn’t be happier to realise that dream today.

“Today we start a new era in the history of this iconic team, and I can’t wait to see what story we will write together.”

Picture: Andre D. Wagner