Lewis Hamilton says he has nothing to prove with his Ferrari switch on the eve of his first grand prix for the famous Italian team.
Hamilton’s Ferrari move is one of the biggest in Formula 1 history, the union of statistically the greatest driver of all time with sport’s most successful team.
Though his Mercedes defection was originally aimed at success under 2026’s new regulations, Ferrari could be in title contention as soon as this year, having ended 2024 just 14 points shy of constructors champion McLaren.
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While it potentially draws Hamilton’s goal nearer, it also ramps up the pressure on the Briton to quickly acclimatise to his new surroundings.
But speaking to reporters at Albert Park, the seven-time champion said he had nothing to prove in red, saying the only pressure he felt stemmed from his own expectations.
“I don’t feel the pressure,” he said. “The outside pressure is non-existent 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.
“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, and I think 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.”
But Hamilton did admit to facing a steep learning curve.
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The 40-year-old had been at the Mercedes works team for 12 years before quitting, and even McLaren was the German marque’s de facto works team for much of his time at Woking. Mercedes engines have powered all seven of his drivers titles.
Much has also been made of the cultural transition from UK-based Mercedes to Ferrari in regional Italy.
While the Briton isn’t resiling from the challenge, he was under no illusion about the difficulties he’s set to face this season.
“I’m under no assumptions that it will be easy. It is not,” he said. “I’m back at square one.
“I’m really just putting all the time I have in.
“I’ve been at the factory four days a week. 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.
“I’m still learning this new car that’s quite a lot different to what I’ve driven for all my previous career in the sense of Mercedes power.
“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 looking at the race trace from last year, and it’s upside down compared to the previous one.
“You’re looking at things from a different perspective, which makes it exciting and challenging.
“This is the most exciting period of my life, and so I’m really just enjoying it. I’m so excited to get in the car tomorrow.”
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He estimated he would need months, not weeks, to bring himself to full competitiveness.
“Inevitably there is a transition period and there is a foundation that’s needed to be built,” he explained. “The first half of the season really is that foundation building — those relationships, the trust you’re building with absolutely every single person within the team that you get to work in.
“Whilst respect is given, trust is something that’s built over time.”
It left Hamilton, a two-time winner at Albert Park, unwilling to set a target for himself this weekend.
“I definitely hope to be in the top 10!” he laughed. “I don’t have expectations. I think I just ultimately want to come away knowing that I’ve given absolutely everything and I’ve excelled in the way that I know I can and that I felt comfortable in the car — just one foot in front of the other.
“I don’t know what that means in results, but of course we won’t know until tomorrow whereabouts we truly stand within the top teams.
“I’m hoping that we’re able to compete for the top five, so somewhere in that space.
“I come with a very open mind coming in this weekend. It is about getting into a season, it’s about getting into a good rhythm.
“I’m just itching to get going. It’s been a long time coming, and to think that this is going to be my first grand prix … I feel very honoured and very grateful to have the opportunity.”
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