Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari debut: The internal pressure that drives a champion

Dominika Jordan
Mar 13, 2025, 02:58 AM ET

MELBOURNE, Australia - As he prepares for his highly anticipated debut with Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton has vowed to deliver, emphasizing that the pressure he feels is self-imposed.

Hamilton's move to Ferrari has been the major talking point of F1's off-season, marking the union of the sport's most successful driver with its most storied team. Ferrari hasn't clinched a championship since 2008, and Hamilton aims to add to his record-equaling seven drivers' titles.

Racing for Enzo Ferrari's iconic squad brings sky-high expectations, yet Hamilton remains focused on his internal drive. "I think always through the years, the pressure that I put on myself has always been 10 times higher than any other pressure that can be put upon me," Hamilton told reporters. "I've not joined this team and been made to feel any pressure. I have an expectation for myself.

"I know what I can bring. I know I can deliver. I know what it's going to take to do that. And it's just getting your head down and working away. So I come with a very open mind coming in this weekend."

When asked if he felt the weight of expectation, Hamilton elaborated on his mindset. "I'm not, because I don't really read the news and I go for long, long periods without social media," he said. "So I'm not being bombarded with all the stuff on social media, so I'm kind of living in my own little bubble in my head.

He added: "Under no assumptions it will be easy. It is not. I know what I have. I don't feel the pressure -- the outside pressure is nonexistent for me. The pressure is from within and what I want to achieve. I'm not here to prove anything to anybody. I don't feel I have to do anything, I've been here a long, long time and done it time and time again.

"I know what it takes to do a good job, and that's what I want to deliver for myself, my family, and for this team that I really believe deserve success. When you see such a large group of people who are clearly so passionate and driven and have maybe not had as much success as they would like or deserve, you just want to work and contribute to achieving that."

Hamilton has conducted several Ferrari tests during the off-season but will get two practice sessions on Friday to familiarize himself with the new car ahead of Saturday's qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix, the first competitive event of the new year.

The 40-year-old acknowledged that he is still adapting to the team's methods, especially in how Ferrari's data is presented. "Coming into Ferrari power, it's something quite new, different vibration, different feel, different way of working. The whole team works completely differently.

"I was just sitting, just looking at like the race trace from last year, and it's upside down compared to the previous ones! I don't understand at all.

"I come with a very open mind coming into this weekend. It is about getting into a season, getting into a good rhythm."

Hamilton reiterated his dedication to the craft, saying, "I've been giving absolutely everything to training to push my mind and my body further than I have before, trying to see if I can excel and just squeeze more juice out of this. And I'm under no assumptions that it will be easy."

Reflecting on his current chapter, Hamilton added: "You're looking at things from a different perspective, which makes it exciting and challenging. This is the most exciting period of my life, so I'm really just enjoying it and I'm so excited to get in the car tomorrow."