Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari in Maranello: this was John Elkann’s dream. As broadly anticipated, final Monday, the headquarters at Through Abetone Inferiore 4 grew to become the middle of the world, a minimum of so far as motorsport is worried. The British driver’s first “operational” day was a possibility to satisfy the workforce of the Prancing Horse, beneath the watchful eyes of all the high administration of the pink workforce. Current in full ceremonial trend had been the main figures of the historic Maranello firm: President John Elkann, chief government officer Benedetto Vigna, and Workforce Principal Frederic Vasseur.
The seven-time Components 1 world champion appeared visibly moved by the welcome and by discovering the internal workings of the corporate that not solely produces probably the most well-known automobiles on the planet however is, within the sporting realm, the last word manufacturing facility of desires, no matter success on the monitor. That success within the high class has been absent for the reason that time when Lewis Hamilton was taking his first steps in Components 1, astonishing the world together with his rapid skill to struggle for the title as a rookie, competing in opposition to Fernando Alonso.
What is definite is that each one the members of the Italian workforce had been swept up by immense enthusiasm, which Ferrari will do all the things to channel as a catalyst for the championship hopes of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, who was additionally discreetly current. Furthermore, Ferrari’s meticulous consideration to each single element in communication and picture highlights the size of the occasion, in addition to the large expectations this partnership will inevitably be required to satisfy. Nothing much less was anticipated from this preliminary level of contact.
Occasions change, as does the best way of speaking with the skin world. We all know this nicely. Nonetheless, no Ferrari driver has ever been given such a welcome as a brand new arrival. In spite of everything, the Italian F1 workforce had by no means signed a driver with so many accolades. Not even Michael Schumacher, when he arrived in 1996, had achieved Lewis Hamilton’s milestones. Probably the most highly effective message of the day is subliminal but very clear to these aware of the historical past of probably the most embellished workforce on the planet.
John Elkann’s presence, performing virtually as a shadow for Lewis Hamilton at each step, at the same time as he greeted followers outdoors the Prancing Horse’s headquarters, “betrays” the inheritor of the Agnelli household’s want to assert (and remind everybody of) the parenthood of the signing of the British champion. Past the assured return on funding from the colossal advertising and merchandising equipment, with the “Lewis Hamilton deal” the grandson of lawyer Gianni Agnelli seeks to etch his identify into the legendary historical past of Ferrari.
For these with just a few grey hairs, it’s nicely remembered that the lawyer, a staunch Juventus supporter, was not accustomed to attending the foremost occasions of the pink workforce. Nonetheless, he made an exception in the course of the 1996 Components 1 racing marketing campaign when the primary Ferrari of Michael Schumacher, the not-so-competitive F310, was unveiled. On February 15, 1996, Gianni Agnelli hosted the occasion beneath a marquee arrange in Fiorano. He took the stage throughout Michael Schumacher’s first official look and, in his distinctive type, conveyed the magnitude of the funding and the excessive expectations.
“Definitely, Michael didn’t come to us for a crust of bread.” These had been the phrases of John’s grandfather. The present Ferrari president has little in frequent together with his illustrious ancestor. Nonetheless, the arrival of Lewis Hamilton looks like a nostalgic try and retrace his grandfather’s footsteps. It undoubtedly sends a subliminal message to all managerial ranges of the Ferrari Racing Division: now that the Prancing Horse has a driver who has received in every single place, greater than anybody else, there can not be excuses for not seizing the Components 1 world championship.
The automobile should reside as much as the seven-time world champion and Charles Leclerc, who, in his seventh season with the Italian workforce, has a novel alternative: to win his first world title by defeating the driving force who rewrote Components 1’s information. Final Monday could be remembered because the day marking the daybreak of a brand new golden age for Ferrari or, at worst, one other grand imaginative and prescient and not using a comfortable ending. Those that care concerning the destiny of the pink workforce hope to be on the daybreak of a brand new period of victories, no matter who will lead the historic Italian workforce to success as envisioned by president John Elkann.
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