Hamilton Reveals He Wants To Learn Italian After Ferrari Move

Saturday, 24 February 2024 at 19:00

Lewis Hamilton suggested he "will definitely" try to learn Italian as he will drive for Ferrari starting from the season 2025.

The seven-time World Champion is nearing the end of his career with his increasing age. Currently, he is 39 - the second oldest driver on the grid after Fernando Alonso, who will turn 43 this year.

However, he decided to challenge himself with a brave and bold move ahead of the 2024 season when he signed a contract with Ferrari, which means he will be the driver for the team from 2025.

Throughout his whole career, Hamilton raced for only two teams: McLaren and Mercedes. Both are based in England and work in a completely different way than Ferrari does.

There are currently two Italian teams on the grid. One is RB (formerly Alphatauri), and the other is Ferrari. However, RB is slowly moving most of its staff to the United Kingdom, meaning Ferrari is the only "true" Italian team on the grid in 2024.

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Many of Ferrari's employees speak Italian, and the 39-year-old's future teammate, Charles Leclerc, also does. Jenson Button recently applauded Hamilton for the brave move but pointed out it won't be easy for the seven-time World Champion when he told Sky Sports:

"For Lewis, this is a brave move and a lot of respect to him because he's not just going to another team. He's going to Ferrari, he's going to a team where they speak Italian – a language he doesn't know and a language Charles does know very well. This is a biggie."

On the other hand, Hamilton is open to any kind of challenge, and he asserted during this week's press conference in Bahrain that he will try to learn Italian.

"In all these years, I've not managed to learn any other languages, but of course, I will definitely try. I do remember when I was karting in Italy and I was able to pick up a few lines, and so hopefully that will come back to me pretty quick."

Hamilton still has one full year before he joins Scuderia, so he has plenty of time to learn Italian if he wants to. But what is more important, do you think he will be able to win with Ferrari?