Toto Wolff provided a classy response when asked about Lewis Hamilton’s early days with Ferrari. The Mercedes team principal likened the experience of viewing the Brit’s photos to the aftermath of an ‘amicable divorce’.
Hamilton ended his 12-year partnership with Mercedes at the end of the 2024 campaign. On the final lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, he overtook team-mate George Russell to record a fourth-place finish in his final start for the Brackley-based constructor.
After a winter away from motorsport, Hamilton travelled to Maranello in January to start his life with the Scuderia. On his first day, the seven-time world champion posed in a striking suit in front of Enzo Ferrari’s old house and a Ferrari F40 supercar for an instantly iconic photograph.
The snap has already been liked over 5.6 million times on Hamilton’s Instagram, making it the most-liked F1 post in history. Discussing the image at the Autosport Awards ceremony, former boss Wolff said: “Yeah, it’s a little bit like you divorce amicably, and it’s all good, and then you see your partner for the first time with a new friend.
“But I’m really happy for him, and I told him that those pictures were iconic, that he made, that was so well curated, and no surprise with Lewis.”
The change in scenery may be the catalyst that Hamilton needs to rediscover his form. The 2024 season was the toughest of the 40-year-old’s career to date as he finished seventh in the Drivers’ Championship standings and lost out 19-5 to Russell in the Mercedes intra-team qualifying battle.
Joining Ferrari has instilled a new level of motivation in the legendary Brit, though. In the caption of his now-iconic Instagram post, he wrote: There are some days that you know you’ll remember forever, and today, my first as a Ferrari driver, is one of those days.
“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.”
Success at Ferrari is far from guaranteed, though. In Charles Leclerc, Hamilton is facing another formidable team-mate, and a crash during the first day of the Scuderia’s private test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya will have raised eyebrows in the garage.
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