Lewis Hamilton says that he’s living his childhood dream after his first day as a Ferrari driver – and fans think they have spotted a secret message in his first picture.
The seven-time F1 world champion made a shock switch to the iconic Italian brand after a glittering 12 seasons with Mercedes, where he lifted six of his seven titles – and set a host of records along the way. But now he’s being tasked with helping secure a first drivers’ world championship for the Maranello team in almost two decades – since Kimi Raikkonen’s 2007 triumph.
And Hamilton sent the Tifosi into a frenzy as he commented for the first time after visiting the brand’s historic base, with a post on X showing a picture outside Enzo Ferrari’s house beside an F40 supercar, and the words “new era.” Posting on his Instagram page, the 40-year-old added: “There are some days that you know you’ll remember forever and today, my first as a Ferrari driver, is one of those days. 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.”
However fans think they spotted a secret message in the picture, with seven windows behind Hamilton and a door – sparking a theory that was a reference to his seven world titles, with the door now open to an eighth with the Scuderia. One posted: “Seven windows and the door to eighth. Brilliant PR from Ferrari”, whilst another said: “The aura in this image will never be matched; the F40, Enzo’s house and then windows for his titles. So clever.”
After making his F1 debut with McLaren in 2007, Hamilton made history by lifting the 2008 title with the team – becoming Britain’s first F1 world champion since Damon Hill in 1996. A move to Mercedes in 2013 sparked a golden spell for the Englishman, who lifted six titles between 2014 and 2020. However a challenging 2023 left him contemplating his future in the sport, before a call from Ferrari saw him agree a deal to become Charles Leclerc’s teammate for 2025 – before the first green flag of the 2024 season had even been waved.
Ferrari had previously made no secret of their desire to sign Hamilton, whilst he had previously said that it would’ve been a dream to race in red – telling the F1 website: “I think for every driver growing up, watching the history, watching Michael Schumacher in his prime, I think probably all of us sit in our garage and see the screen pop up, and you see the driver in the red cockpit and you wonder what it would be like to be surrounded by the red.
“You go to the Italian Grand Prix and you see the sea of red Ferrari fans and you can only stand in awe of that. It’s a team that’s not had huge success recently, since 2007, and I saw it as a huge challenge. Without a doubt, even as a kid, I used to play [on games] as Michael in that car, so it definitely is a dream and I’m really, really excited about it.”