Lewis Hamilton: Ferrari driver arrives for his first day at Maranello - but can he win the F1 championship?

The seven-time world champion posted a picture of himself standing in front of a Ferrari F40 at the team’s base in Maranello, northern Italy.

Hamilton, who announced his move to Ferrari after 12 seasons and six drivers’ championship wins at Mercedes ahead of the 2024 campaign, was greeted by team principal Fred Vasseur and chief executive Benedetto Vigna before meeting with various departments.

“There are some days that you know you’ll remember forever and today, my first as a Ferrari driver, is one of those days,” Hamilton said on Instagram. “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.”

Hamilton will be alongside team-mate Charles Leclerc for the Formula One season launch event at the O2 Arena on February 18, before Ferrari unveil their 2025 challenger the following day. His first race for Ferrari will be at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 16.

The British driver finished seventh in the championship in his final season for Mercedes, with Ferrari losing out on the constructors’ championship to McLaren at the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi.

This season is shaping up to be one of the closest in recent memory, with at least six drivers in firm contention for the championship. At Ferrari, Hamilton and Leclerc make for a formidable duo, but they will need to be perfect in order to beat reigning champion Max Verstappen.

Meanwhile at McLaren, Lando Norris ran the Dutchman close last season, and towards the end of the year seemed to have the edge over him; his teammate, Oscar Piastri, has also shown he has the pace and temprament to be a title contender - and let’s not rule out Mercedes, as George Russell’s rivalry with Verstappen could lead to drama out of sheer hatred for one another.

But can Hamilton claim his eighth world championship? As mentioned, he did struggle last season and to some appeared mentally ‘checked out’ - but we don’t know if he was just done with being at Mercedes, going through a rough patch or genuinely seeing his career in F1 winding down.

The Brit is now 40 years old, and it’s natural for drivers to lose some of their speed as they get older. Just ask the likes of Kimi Raikkonen, Fernando Alonso and even Michael Schumacher, who was a shadow of his former self by the time he retired for a second time in 2012.

That being said, you would be daft to rule out Hamilton on age alone - even last year, he showed he has the tenacity and race pace to still win grand prix, such as with his masterclass at Silverstone.