Sebastian Vettel raises eyebrows over Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari ‘dream’

Lewis Hamilton will make his Formula 1 debut for Scuderia Ferrari this weekend at the Australian GP. The British driver is extremely motivated for his journey with the Italian team. However, four-time world champion and former Ferrari star Sebastian Vettel has questioned if Hamilton truly dreamt of racing for the Scuderia.

Sebastian Vettel recalled the time when he used to watch his idol, Michael Schumacher dominate the sport with the Scuderia during the early 2000s. This instilled Ferrari in the mind of the 37-year-old who went on to race for the Prancing Horse between 2015 and 2020. While, Lewis Hamilton recently claimed that joining the Maranello-based squad was his childhood dream.

The four-time world champion was not fully convinced that Hamilton had dreamt of racing for Ferrari as a child. The 40-year-old’s F1 idol Ayrton Senna never got the chance to race for Maranello despite coming close on a couple of occasions. Nevertheless, Sebastian Vettel insisted that it was still an extremely special moment for Lewis Hamilton to race in red.

Sebastian Vettel pinpoints biggest change for Lewis Hamilton

The seven-time world champion has raced in every season of Formula 1 since making his debut with McLaren in 2007. Hamilton spent six seasons at the Woking-based squad before moving to Mercedes in 2013, another Britain-based team.

Sebastian Vettel pointed out that Formula 1 has eighth teams based in the UK, while only two, Ferrari and Racing Bulls are centered in Italy. He claimed that the biggest challenge a driver like Hamilton would face during such a move was the change in language. As the British driver had spent his entire time in F1 with British teams.

Nevertheless, Lewis Hamilton has taken up the challenge of learning Italian for his new team. The British driver even shocked his crew by speaking in Italian at Maranello. Thus, this shows how dedicated the seven-time world champion is when it comes to blending himself in an all new environment. Even though, his arrival has led to a culture shock within the Prancing Horse.

How will Lewis Hamilton’s debut Ferrari campaign pan out?

Lewis Hamilton has high ambitions for the latest chapter of his career. The British driver made a courageous decision by switching teams at the age of 40, when he already had a deal with Mercedes on the table. However, the 40-year-old seemed to be in a dire need of a change of environment.

So far, things have been positive for Hamilton as he has adapted himself to Maranello. Though, there have been rumors of him being slower than Charles Leclerc during the SF-25 shakedown. Lewis Hamilton has continued to stay confident after preseason testing, with the aim of potentially fighting for the world championship.

However, for now, the Tifosi will need to hold their horses when it comes to putting expectations on the seven-time world champion. Lewis Hamilton’s journey with Ferrari will not succeed if the two parties start with too many expectations. Rather, Hamilton should start the year without focusing too much on the title campaign, and just try to get the most out of the car from round 1.

Certainly, Lewis Hamilton will not be happy to settle for anything less than at least a couple of race wins this year. Though, this will not be easy as 2025 is expected to witness one of the closest battles at the front of the grid.

This could throw a spanner in the works for Hamilton and Ferrari. Cracks could emerge in this partnership if the opening few races turn out to be disappointing. However, it remains to be seen if the seven-time world champion can fight for victories with the SF-25 this year.

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