F1 News
How will the Tifosi welcome Hamilton? 'He needs to open up in Imola'
Lewis Hamilton is set to make the move to Ferrari for 2025. With the move, comes a new fan base: the Tifosi. Ahead of the first of the two Italian Grand Prix's this year, the team on the Sky Sports F1 podcast discussed with Sky Italia how they expect the supporters to greet Hamilton, given this is the first time he will be at an Italian race since the news broke.
It seems as if the Tifosi are prepared for Hamilton's arrival this weekend, with the team at Sky Italia telling Karun Chandhok: "There's a huge amount of excitement over Lewis coming. I think they are super, super keen to have him. I think they will welcome him in."
The Tifosi are known for their passion, as Karun Chandhok recalled: "I remember when Alan Prost went from McLaren to Ferrari in 1989 and then he won the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, and he stood up on the podium and they were going nuts, and he said he was so overcome with emotion. He threw his winning trophy into the crowd, just sort of giving over to the fans, and they obviously loved it."
'They will absolutely embrace every opportunity they can to welcome him'
For Ferrari, the pressure will be on this weekend to win at their home race, with their last Italian win coming in 2019 when Charles Leclerc won at Monza. The last time they won at Imola was in 2006 when Michael Schumacher took the first place.
Nevertheless, even though Hamilton still has another year until he moves to the team, he will certainly be embraced this weekend: "The Italians, you know, the reason we love them and they love Formula One is passion isn't it, they are hugely passionate people," says Chandhok.
"If Lewis, and we know Lewis, he wears his heart on his sleeve, if he sort of opens up a bit more to them over the weekend, I'm sure they will absolutely embrace every opportunity they can to welcome him in."