“Changes are always beautiful": Benedetto Vigna breaks silence on Lewis Hamilton’s starting week with Ferrari

Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna expresses optimism as Lewis Hamilton begins his tenure with the Italian team next week, mentioning that "changes are always beautiful." The seven-time World Champion was signed by the team last year and replaced Carlos Sainz.

Hamilton is prepared to start working at Maranello after his decade-long stint with Mercedes ended. This is set to be a major change, and while other drivers have already started working with their new teams for 2025, Hamilton is yet to get in the red suit.

CEO Benedetto Vigna recently revealed that Lewis Hamilton will start work from next week.

"There is a lot of (excitement), there is a lot of desire to start," he said in a statement. "We are preparing the last things, Lewis will start and will come to us next week. We are ready for almost everything, nothing else but we will prepare it. Changes are always beautiful."

He will join forces with Charles Leclerc as the team continues the hunt for their 17th Constructors' Championship. Ferrari got close to clinching their first title since 2008 last season, but McLaren got the advantage over them by a very small margin and won the championship.

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Ferrari team boss "not worried" with Lewis Hamilton's recent performances at Mercedes

Although he claimed two victories, Lewis Hamilton faced a tough situation with the car in his final season with Mercedes. Other than three podiums and those two wins, he struggled on most weekends. He was out of the top five in many races and finished seventh in the standings.

Heading into Ferrari with this form might raise a few questions within the management; however, team principal Frederic Vasseur is not worried about it. In a statement, he mentioned that he wouldn't put the blame on Lewis Hamilton or Mercedes and instead expressed his confidence in the 40-year-old's ability to contribute significantly to the team.

"I am really convinced, and I don't want to blame Lewis or Mercedes, that this situation is not easy to manage and I can understand if it is not going well you can suffer in this relationship," BBC Sport quoted him.

Vasseur further mentioned that Hamilton was "not very well in his mind" while racing in his final season with the team.

"He was not very well in his mind and he was clear about this in Brazil but he also did very well on the last couple of events and I am not worried at all."

Ferrari was in an extremely competitive shape towards the end of the 2024 season and will be looking to carry that momentum into this year's campaign. McLaren are expected to be their main rivals as Red Bull Racing had a tough time finding competitive pace in the latter part of 2024.