Lewis Hamilton promises ‘fun rollercoaster ride’ at Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton has promised Ferrari fans a “really fun” rollercoaster ride as takes on the challenge of a steep learning curve ahead of his team debut.
Hamilton’s blockbuster switch from Mercedes to F1’s most successful and famous team has dominated the build-up to the new season.
The seven-time world champion is looking to end a Ferrari drivers’ title drought which stretches back to 2007, the year he entered the sport as a rookie with McLaren.
Doing so would earn him an unprecedented eighth title.
“Firstly, the step I’ve taken, I knew it was a massive challenge. And that’s exciting,” Hamilton told ESPN’s Nicole Briscoe for SportsCenter. “I’m getting out of my comfort zone.
“I was comfortable where I was, I’d been there for many years, knew the environment, knew when and when I couldn’t turn up, I knew how everything worked. I’m coming into this new space and it’s so, so different, it’s a different culture, a different language, and it is massively challenge but I love the challenge, I always have, even since I was a kid. That’s what spurs me on.”
Hamilton signed a multi-year deal to race for Ferrari.
There are numerous examples of Ferrari drivers winning on debut — Juan Manuel Fangio, Nigel Mansell, Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso all did so.
Hamilton’s debut will be the Australian Grand Prix on March 16, but he does not expect everything to click into place immediately.
He added: “I’m also conscious that everything doesn’t have to happen in the first day or the first month. I’m here for more than a year and we’re going to go on this rollercoaster journey together. It’s going to be a rollercoaster ride, but a really fun one. And we’re going to make it great.”
Hamilton’s move to Mercedes in 2013 led to six world championships, but he claimed just a single victory in his first year with the team.
“The biggest challenge is getting ready,” he added. “I remember in my previous team I joined, it wasn’t until six months until I won my first race.
“It takes time to build relationships, to build trust with everybody, to understand how an organisation works, how people are tuned to work, how you can show up for people and get the best out of them, and vice versa. There’s not really a shortcut for that. So I would say that’s the biggest challenge is, how can I blend in with this team? How can I merge with everyone here?
“I feel really aligned with everyone here but in the car it’s completely different. The messages they send me are much different than what I’ve experienced before. Everything that comes on the dash is different.
“The whole set up of the front and the rear … It’s all different. To achieve something similar, but the terminology is different. Jeez, I could go on and on and on. But when there’s a will, there’s a way and we are putting in as much work as we can.”
Source: espn.com