He won't race for Ferrari until next week in Australia, ending 13 months of hype since he announced his decision to leave Mercedes.

Vasseur said Hamilton was the “perfect fit” for Ferrari right now, while Leclerc thought the Briton was joining at the ideal point as the team’s mentality is now stronger than ever, in part thanks to Vasseur’s leadership. No longer in a rebuild, the championship is a realistic goal for Ferrari.

Lewis Hamilton's first race for Ferrari in Australia next week is reminding him of how he felt ahead of his Formula One debut for McLaren in Melbourne in 2007.

Lewis Hamilton has admitted that incidents of black footballers being racially abused in Italy did make him think twice when deciding to move to Ferrari this year. The seven-time F1 world champion has switched to Ferrari after 12 years and six world titles at Mercedes.

Lewis Hamilton has not joined Ferrari to drive up the share price or bring in sponsors. He’s there to win and suggesting otherwise is “really unfair to Lewis.” That’s the opinion of Ferrari chairman John Elkann.