Media on Hamilton-Ferrari: 'This changes the history of the sport'

Corriere della Sera

The Corriere della Sera was the first to report the imminent news on Thursday. A day later, the Italian newspaper reopened with Hamilton and Ferrari: "Like an unstoppable wave. One that springs up in the open sea and reached the shore at 8.21pm yesterday. A two-line statement. Two lines that change the history of racing and the sport. Lewis Hamilton in Ferrari," reports the newspaper.

The Corriere also realises that Hamilton faces another "strange year" at Mercedes. "But his heart is already here [in Maranello]." To conclude with: "Welcome Sir Lewis, although the future can wait."

Gazzetta dello Sport

The Gazzetta dello Sport cannot believe its luck either, now that Hamilton has announced his arrival at Ferrari. The Italian sports newspaper knows why the Brit wants to make the switch to the Scuderia: "Every driver is sooner or later fascinated by the 'red car', as Alain Prost said when he signed with the team. Besides the Frenchman, it was true of Juan Manuel Fangio, Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel from the 1950s onwards, and it probably would have happened to Ayrton Senna too if it wasn't for that cursed 1 May 1994 in Imola in which he was killed."

"All world champions who had little or nothing to prove. There is no escape: history is history, even if Maranello hasn't seen a drivers' title since 2007. And winning it with Ferrari - the eighth in his case - would make the Englishman an absolute legend. And it would en passant mean the Oscar-winning screenplay of a Hollywood film," said the Gazzetta.

Daily Mail

While it is surprising in the moment, Hamilton moving to Ferrari is not a total surprise when looking back, according to the Daily Mail. "Ferrari. It is a nagging obsession that has ambushed Lewis Hamilton's consciousness his whole life," the English newspaper said. So when the opportunity arose (again) to switch to the Scuderia, even with an ongoing contract with Mercedes, Hamilton could not turn it down.

Although he had previously declared love to Mercedes as well as his 'friend' Toto Wolff: "I was never convinced by this projected dynamic," the columnist says of the open devotion to Mercedes. "Lewis – and I don’t mean this as criticism but as recognition of a top competitor in the brutal business of elite sport – is as hard as nails, as stubborn as a red wine stain." In other words, if he had to, Hamilton would choose himself, not Mercedes.

At Ferrari, Hamilton will be Charles Leclerc's teammate. The Daily Mail expects the team to become the centre of attention: "In terms of glamour and headlines and intrigue, however, the combination of the aging king and the young prince in harness is an attractive one. Formula One’s avaricious American owners, Liberty Media, couldn’t have scripted it better on Netflix."