Lewis Hamilton has sent a defiant message about his first season with Ferrari, as rumours swirl about his future with the Formula 1 team.
The Briton arrived in Maranello this year, having spent nearly 12 months preparing for the move, having announced it prior to the start of the 2024 season.
Given the fact that Hamilton is yet to win a full Grand Prix with the team and failed to make it onto a podium either, it has been an undeniably underwhelming start.
But Hamilton has, to the untrained eye, been adapting to various things, from the car and all its nuances, and being at a non-British-based team for the first time in his career.
Hamilton recognised that his profile and the team’s aligning together would be seismic, and believes there is still much more time for the two to build a successful tenure together.
“I knew that aligning our brands would be big,” he told the Italian marque’s in-house ‘Ferrari Magazine’.
“But it still hits you and you’re like: ‘This is even more powerful than I imagined.’
“It’s beautiful and there have been plenty of positives, although a lot of responsibility and weight comes with it.
“Everyone expects to win straight away, but Rome wasn’t built in a day. How long did it take? We’ll have to look that up.”
Hamilton focuses on ‘the things I can control’
The interview has come at a time when some rumours have pointed towards Hamilton heading towards the exit door, with some speculating that former team-mate George Russell and Ferrari protege – and current Haas driver – Oliver Bearman may be lined up to replace him.
Hamilton was asked about how people who know about F1 will know the things required to win, and duly replied: “And that’s not many people.
“Only when you’re inside a team can you really, truly understand how it works and how F1 works. You can’t imagine how the machine really operates otherwise.
“I’ve been in F1 for so long, but when I came to this team it really was different again. So I don’t blame people for not knowing.
“All I can do is continue to focus on the things that I can control. How I prepare and work with the team. How I show up each day and stay positive.”
READ MORE – George Russell touted as potential Ferrari F1 target – report
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