Lewis Hamilton says he has "realised his dream"
and his first official day at Ferrari marked a "new era in the history of
this iconic team".
Hamilton, 40, began his preparations for his debut season
with his new team on Monday at the Ferrari factory in Maranello.
The seven-time world champion signed for Ferrari in January
last year but contractual commitments to Mercedes prevented any substantive
contacts until the end of 2024.
"There are some days that you know you'll remember
forever and today, my first as a Ferrari driver, is one of those days," he
said in a post 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."
Hamilton will spend his first day meeting key people and
getting to know the factory and team. He is also likely to try out the 2025 car
in the team's simulator.
The Briton is expected to drive a 2023 F1 car at Ferrari's
Fiorano test track later in the week, and will complete further days in it at
Barcelona before the launch of the 2025 Ferrari on 19 February.
The 2023 car is the most recent Hamilton is permitted to
drive under F1's testing restrictions.
Among the differences to which he will have to adapt is that
this will be the first time in Hamilton's 18-year F1 career that he has driven
a car that does not use a Mercedes engine.
Official F1 pre-season testing is at Bahrain on 26-28
February, where Hamilton and team-mate Charles Leclerc will share the three
days of running equally.
Team principal Frederic Vasseur has said that Hamilton faces
"a challenge" getting up to speed in the short time available before
the start of the season in Australia from 14-16 March.
Vasseur said at Ferrari's Christmas lunch last month:
"It is not easy but he is coming with his own experience. But he is not
the rookie of the year, I am not worried at all about this."
Hamilton will have a place to live in Italy to help his
assimilation into Ferrari, which is regarded as the national team.
Hamilton and Ferrari will appear alongside the other teams
at the official F1 launch at London's O2 Arena on 18 February before returning
to Italy for Ferrari's unveiling of the new car the following day.
