Lewis Hamilton feels the pressure from Ferrari fans: "Dying for another title"

Ferrari drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc lit up the roads of Milan's Piazza Castello in a celebration of Corsa Rossa on Thursday, with the former feeling the pressure from fans of the team.

The seven-time world champion sat behind the wheel of the 2021 SF-21 as he threw the machine around the closed roads of the UniCredit-backed demonstration event. With plenty of tyre smoke and sideways action, Hamilton shared the day with 35,000 happy Tifosi who were keen to set their eyes on the Scuderia's new driver.

His 2025 teammate drove the SF90, a car he won his first Grand Prix with in 2019. That year, he finished first at both Spa-Francorchamps and Monza.

"I've seen the Tifosi over the years for Sebastian [Vettel], I've seen them for Fernando [Alonso], I've seen them for Charles and Carlos [Sainz], so I wasn't surprised," Hamilton said via Reuters.

"Bit by bit I'm getting to see more and more of the Tifosi and getting to know them a little bit more. I really really want to be able to communicate with them in Italian, so I've got to work on it," he continued.

The former Mercedes driver is excited to start the upcoming season with the team, and has been working hard to integrate himself into Maranello.

Talking to AutoRacer at the end of 2024, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali confirmed that the Briton is learning Italian to help him mould to his new team.

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari at Fiorano

Photo by: Ferrari

“He will bring great interest.

"He is learning to speak Italian and understand how to integrate into our culture.

“I told him, it is also essential for him to be able to do this. In Ferrari, he will find a different environment than before."

The 40-year-old driver continued, adding that he known the Tifosi are "dying" for another championship win for the Italian marque.

"Just driving for Ferrari is a huge honour but they already have an incredible legacy so it's not that they need necessarily another championship, because they have so many already," said Hamilton.

"But I know that's what they exist to do, to work towards, and I know that the Tifosi are dying for that...I wouldn't be able to find the words to be able to express just how special that would be.

"But that's what we work towards."

Working with Hamilton will be a very different experience for his Monegasque teammate. Leclerc said the following on the subject:

“Obviously it’s very different, the situation that Lewis finds himself in joining the team.

“When I joined, I only had done one year in Formula 1 [with Sauber], so everything was still new to me and I had to learn how a team like Ferrari would work in Formula 1, even though I knew the factory and everything by being in the Ferrari Driver Academy before.

“For Lewis, an Italian team is pretty new to him, but he has achieved so much and he arrives here as a legend of the sport.

“It’s really cool to see what it was like for him to have so much success in other teams and the way they used to work, so on that we’ve learned a lot, and it was really exciting to see how happy and excited he was about the whole thing.

“For me that meant that the off-season was a bit more in the shadow, but I enjoyed it. I focused on myself, I’m pushing at the maximum to be ready for the first race, and I’m really looking forward to this year. I’m hoping that we’ll start the year in a more positive way compared to last year.”

The Australian Grand Prix begins on March 14 with Free Practice 1 at 12:30 local time.