Can Hamilton cope with Ferrari pressure? 'Passion, it's totally different'
F1 News
- Ludo van Denderen
Lewis Hamilton has seen and experienced a lot during his long career in Formula 1, however, the level of passion the Italian Ferrari fans, the Tifosi, are, the seven-time world champion is yet to experience. With the Brit officially employed by the iconic team since January 1st, that is about to change rapidly and Hamilton will naturally notice how high the pressure is at Ferrari. In any case, team boss Frederic Vasseur is not worried about whether Hamilton can handle it.
The Tifosi hope Hamilton gives Ferrari its first world title since 2008. Realistic? That will surely become clear on the track in the coming weeks, but Italian supporters are already dreaming of that moment. That is why Vasseur told them, "For sure we have to manage in terms of atmosphere around the team. Pressure is not the right word but the passion of the tifosi, the passion of the press, it’s completely different," the Frenchman told the Formula 1 website.
But Ferrari, Mercedes or any other team has only one objective: "But the target is the same. The approach of the business is the same – to try and do the best with the car and the engineers. We have to keep this focus and not be too focused on the world outside," Vasseur mused.
Hamilton already in action for Ferrari this month
Because of his extensive experience in the sport, Vasseur is therefore anything but worried that Hamilton will not start the season well enough prepared, even if the number of times he can test in a Ferrari F1 car is limited. It was already announced earlier that the Italians want him to make his first metres in a two-year-old car later this month.
This article was written in collaboration with Norberto Mujica.
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