Lewis Hamilton Will Be “Perez the Second” at Ferrari if He Fails to Captivate Hearts of Tifosi

After the 2024 season, Lewis Hamilton has set himself up for yet another life-altering challenge in the twilight years of his F1 career. His move to Ferrari won’t be as straightforward as moving from one British-based team to another. Settling in at Ferrari is no cakewalk and winning the hearts of the Tifosi on top of that makes it a mammoth task. A task, if not successfully executed, could ruin Hamilton’s tenure with the Italian team similar to Sergio Perez‘s time at Red Bull.

Charles Leclerc is the “crown prince” at Ferrari, as the Monegasque has charmed his way into the hearts of the Ferrari fans. Even though some statements would suggest otherwise, Hamilton will have to fight to make his mark on the team despite his reputation preceding himself with Leclerc already being embedded at Ferrari. However, tiny gestures can make a big impact in his bid to earn the respect of the new sets of fans as he already appeals to them with his fashion.

“Also if you look at Lewis as a person. He is a huge glamor man and a huge fashion man. I think it’s great for him, the whole way of life of the Italians,” Lammers said, as quoted by F1 Maximaal (Translated via Google). However, Louis Dekker highlighted Hamilton’s outlook toward learning Italian, which wasn’t as forthcoming and could very well end up making him an outsider in his new team similar to Perez at Red Bull.

“In the press conference, Hamilton was asked, ‘What about your Italian?’,” Dekker says. “And then he [Hamilton]: ‘I have never learned a language in my career’. I’m going to advise him to get the hang of that (Italian) because then he will win the hearts of the Tifosi. If he thinks ‘I can manage with English’, then he is missing a very small point. Leclerc is the crown prince, and he must beat him, otherwise he will become Pérez the second.” (Translated via Google)

Despite his obvious appeal, the Brit will have to go a little above and beyond to win his new set of Italian fans over to earn him the same support as Leclerc despite his history with the team and its fans. Perez is suffering from the same scenario at Red Bull as he is struggling to shake the foothold Max Verstappen has at Red Bull. Moreover, this isn’t a standalone opinion as well. F1 expert Martin Brundle also gave him similar advice.

Martin Brundle advises Lewis Hamilton to embed himself with the Italian team

Brundle is one of the oldest F1 entities who is still an active part of the sport and has seen many come and go in front of him. Being part of the circus for so long, the British commentator and expert recalled the impact Michael Schumacher had on the Italian team. He also revealed the steps the German took to embed himself with the Ferrari. Now, Brundle is giving Hamilton the same piece of advice to navigate through life in 2025.

He revealed, “Look at what Schumacher did. Schumacher had his gym where he stayed overnight where he was always embedded in Fiorano, in the factory, as Leclerc and Sainz have done,” and added, “If Lewis wants to get a fast start in what is a completely different team to the British-based teams, I think he’ll have to embed himself.” 

Read More: Lewis Hamilton, Months Before Betraying Toto Wolff & Co.: “Ferrari is Always Gonna Be Up There”

We are not sure how easily or quickly the Brit will be able to embed himself into Ferrari. However, if he truly wants to, he can start now by learning Italian just as a show of commitment to his new family.