$50M worth Ferrari icon talks about the 'cultural shock' that Lewis Hamilton has had on the team

Former F1 driver Jean Alesi spoke about the culture shock that Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton has had on the team since joining last month. The British driver completed his long-awaited move to the Italian team on January 20 when he posted an iconic image of himself in front of Enzo Ferrari's home in Maranello.

The 40-year-old later went on to meet his new team members in the factory and introduced himself within the outfit. There has been a lot of coverage regarding every single activity that the seven-time F1 world champion has done so far with the iconic team.

Hamilton has even showcased some of his Italian while interacting with his team members in an attempt to better acclimatize himself before the start of the 2025 season.

While speaking to Sky Sports at the F175 Launch event at the O2 Arena on February 18, Alesi, who has a net worth of $50 million as per Celebrity Net Worth, spoke about Lewis Hamilton's impact on the Italian team, saying:

“I know many people in Ferrari. He impressed everybody. He impressed everybody from his presence, and the way he presented himself to the team. Really, he was a cultural shock for Ferrari, to have such a champion, and without taking anything to Charles and Carlos Sainz, but so far, he impressed everybody.”

Hamilton left Mercedes at the end of the 2024 season and joined Ferrari in his bid to win an elusive eighth driver championship in the next two years.

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Lewis Hamilton chimes in on Ferrari's chances to fight for the championship in 2025

Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton stated that he believed that Ferrari had every ingredient to win the championship in the upcoming season.

As quoted by the aforementioned source, the 40-year-old spoke to the media after the team's launch in Fiorano on February 19 and said:

"I worked with two world championship-winning teams before. I know what a winning team looks and feels like. The passion here is like nothing you've ever seen. They've got absolutely every ingredient they need to win a world championship. It's just about putting all the pieces together.

"We've got a great leader in Fred, in John, in Benedetto. Everyone just has a really calm and good approach. No one's like, 'We're perfect in every single area.' Everyone's like, 'We need to elevate everywhere.' They're leaving no stone unturned to try and do that."

The British driver and his new teammate Charles Leclerc will have a task on their hands in their bid to take Ferrari to its first constructors championship since 2008 this year.

Lewis Hamilton has signed with the Italian team on a multi-year contract that will see him race for it until the end of the 2026 season with an option to extend for a further year.