Ferrari, Hamilton finds Vasseur and the former Mercedes in Ferrari, but changes engineer

We win and lose together. Lewis Hamilton repeated it dozens of times during his Formula 1 career, remembering it in the best days of his World Championship successes and in the most difficult ones, marked by anger and disappointment. A phrase that has become a symbol of a work ethic for the British champion who has always supported the importance of the group in Formula 1, even greater than the talent of the driver behind the wheel. Precisely for this reason, in a moment of great change, such as that of his move to Ferrari, for Hamilton the presence of a galaxy made up of trusted men to refer to will be of crucial importance.

vasseur 20 years later

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In first place among the key points of the seven-time world champion’s arrival in Maranello is the Ferrari team principal, Fred Vasseur. A return to the past for Lewis who finds the French engineer at his side twenty years after the first time together on the track. A story that began in 2005 when the young talent was chosen by Vasseur to race with the ASM team in the Formula 3 Euro Series, a team founded by the Frenchman together with ART Grand Prix, with which Lewis won the following year – in 2006 – in GP2, the cadet category of Formula 1. A choice that proved to be successful and which led Hamilton to his debut in the top series in 2007. Over time the relationship with Vasseur did not cool down and in the transition of the driver at Ferrari the presence of the team principal played an important role.

the former mercedes

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Among the men Lewis will meet again in Maranello there are also two important faces he met in Brackley during his years with the Mercedes team. The first is the French engineer Loic Serra, the new technical director of Ferrari, who shared the best seasons of world championship success with the champion. Serra, at Mercedes from 2010 to 2023, will thus return to work with a driver for whom he has enormous respect: «Lewis will bring experience and dedication to the job – said the Cavallino engineer -. He has many qualities but the one that has surprised me the most over the years is his ability to “feel” the machine and understand what is missing. These are fundamental indications for technicians.” From Mercedes to Ferrari the Englishman will also find Jerome d’Ambrosio, new vice-team principal and head of the Ferrari Driver Academy who worked in Brackley in 2023: «Hamilton knows how to manage a work group and it won’t take him long to adapt to the ‘Italy and in Maranello».

important change

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Among the challenges that the Englishman will have to face in his first year at Ferrari will be the adaptation period with the new track engineer who will support him during the season. After twelve years with Peter Bonnington, the champion’s trusted man in his cycle of domination in F.1, Hamilton will change his point of reference. Bonnington has chosen to remain in Toto Wolff’s team and alongside Lewis in Ferrari there will be Riccardo Adami from Brescia, former track engineer of Sebastian Vettel and Carlos Sainz. The first months of 2025 will help the seven-time world champion get used to the new combination: «It’s a very important relationship – explained the rider – your engineer must be someone you trust. I will understand immediately whether things will work or not.”

extra team

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An athlete of Lewis Hamilton’s caliber never moves alone. Outside the Ferrari dynamics, in which the Englishman will rely on the red car for the complete management of the work, there will be a series of private collaborators that Lewis will bring with him on the Italian adventure, continuing to work on personal projects parallel to F.1 . Professionals who have worked with Hamilton over the years while remaining behind the scenes, such as manager Marc Hynes, former driver and long-time friend of the Briton with whom he returned to collaborate at the beginning of 2024. Photographers, trainers, personnel for safety and at least one figure for communication and public relations outside Formula 1. Maintaining continuity as much as possible in a complex universe like the one surrounding Hamilton will be of vital importance, especially in the first Italian months. When his energies will be all in Maranello.