Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali told Lewis Hamilton it’s “essential” for him to learn Italian in order to ingratiate himself with Ferrari.
F1’s most successful driver and team will partner up in 2025 as Hamilton dons the iconic scarlet red overalls of the Scuderia next year.
Hamilton joins Ferrari after spending his entire F1 career thus far with McLaren and Mercedes in his native England.
Speaking at this year’s Italian GP ahead of his well-documented Ferrari move, Hamilton revealed: “My Italian is definitely not very good. It’s probably the same as it was when I was in karting, which was pretty bad.”
However, Domenicali, who served as Ferrari’s Team Principal from 2008 to 2014 told AutoRacer.It that Hamilton is making progress with his Italian prior to joining Maranello.
“[Hamilton] will bring a lot of interest [to Ferrari],” Domenicali said.
“He is learning Italian to understand how to integrate into our culture.
“I told him it is also essential for him to be able to do that. At Ferrari, he will be in a different environment [than what he is used to].”
Despite Domenicali’s advice, Ferrari Team Principal Frederic Vasseur doesn’t believe it to be essential for Hamilton to speak too much Italian at his new team.
Speaking via the Race, Vasseur said: “It’s good to speak a little Italian for the mechanics but I’m not sure that it is crucial for performance.”
Domenicali hopes Leclerc and Hamilton continue respect at Ferrari
Hamilton joins Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc at Ferrari.
Leclerc is well-integrated at the Scuderia as a practically fluent Italian speaker and member of the team since 2019.
Moreover, he comes off the back of a strong season with three GP wins and finishing third in the Drivers’ standings.
Hamilton had a trickier 2024 campaign in comparison, but Domenicali believes Leclerc must consider a new team-mate with such an impressive record.
“Charles will, of course, have to accept that someone like Lewis is not an easy teammate,” he said.
In addition, Domenicali has observed, like many others that the future team-mates have already developed a good rapport and hopes that will continue when Leclerc and Hamilton share the same garage.
“Lewis will definitely have the ability to convey his positivity in his efforts to achieve his record,” Domenicali explained.
“They respect each other a lot, and I hope they will continue to do so at the end of the year.”
With arguably the most talented driver lineup in F1, there is the potential for sparks to fly at Ferrari, but Vasseur isn’t concerned, saying “It is a good issue for the team.”
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