Two-time Formula 1 champion Emerson Fittipaldi believes Italy will come to a standstill to watch Lewis Hamilton make his competitive debut for Ferrari.
Hamilton, the sport’s most successful driver will team up with the most-successful Constructor in F1 – Ferrari – for 2025.
Unlike other F1 teams, Ferrari has a strong national identity with widespread passionate support throughout Italy.
Fittipaldi believes that Hamilton’s racing for Ferrari will draw nationwide attention.
“Ferrari’s coming back strong. [You] can imagine Lewis at Ferrari. The whole [of] Italy is going to stop on Sunday, to watch Lewis drive a Ferrari!” Fittipaldi told talkSPORT’s On Track podcast.
“Lewis’ motivation, [it’s a] challenge to have a new team like Ferrari. Every driver has a dream to drive for Ferrari.
“And I think that at the stage of his life, to be able to go to Ferrari, with Frederic Vasseur, who was his team [principal] in Formula 3 and Formula 2.
“The family’s getting back together again and that’s going to be a big challenge.
“I’m looking forward to seeing next season, should be very exciting for Lewis and Formula 1 is getting extremely competitive now.”
How Hamilton can win over the Tifosi
Ferrari’s adoring Italian following is colloquially referred to as the Tifosi.
The Tifosi have taken Hamilton’s team-mate Charles Leclerc to heart since he arrived in Maranello in 2019.
Leclerc’s case was helped not only by winning at Monza during his debut season in red but the Monegasque’s proficiency in Italian, helping him adapt to the Ferrari culture.
F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, who used other hold office at Ferrari as a former Team Principal, has revealed he and Hamilton held important discussions regarding overcoming the language barrier.
“[Hamilton] will bring a lot of interest [to Ferrari],” Domenicali told AutoRacer.It.
“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].”
That’s marked progress compared to where Hamilton said his Italian was going last Summer.
Speaking at this year’s Italian GP ahead of his 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.”
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