2025-11-09 10:35:27

Lewis Hamilton doesn’t blame F1 fans for expecting more from his debut year at Ferrari.

The seven-time world champion has endured a challenging first season with the Prancing Horse but accepts that outsiders don’t realise the upheaval that comes with changing teams.

Speaking to Ferrari Magazine, Hamilton said: “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, how I work with the team. How I show up each day and stay positive.”

Hamilton joined Ferrari after an extremely successful stint at Mercedes but was fearful of the “cultural differences” before moving to the legendary Italian team.

The British racer said: “It’s so special here. Red is one of my favourite colours. Ferrari is about history, the badge and what it symbolises. The cars are masterpieces.

“It’s the language, the culture, the food. It’s in how Italians express passion for everything.”

Hamilton continued: “Over the years different cultures have got involved and they’ve pulled in people from all walks of life, but at its core Ferrari is Italian.

“I never thought I’d get a role here. I worried about the cultural differences, to be honest, but then you get here and everyone is clearly very open-minded. Ultimately it’s human to human. When you create bridges, all the other stuff falls away.”

Hamilton believes that Ferrari is more emotional than other teams he has driven for.

The 105-time Grand Prix winner said: “The others are a bit less… colourful. They all have their qualities but Italians wear their emotions more obviously, for good and bad, but mostly for the good, I think.

“You see the passion every day, in the way Italians talk about food, for example. In England you don’t get excited talking about fish and chips, you know?”

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