Watch: Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari chairman John Elkann greeting the passionate Tifosi at Maranello

F1 driver Lewis Hamilton made his first appearance at Ferrari's home base of Maranello earlier this week, with a video from his visit being shared to social media by the team. The video shows the Brit interacting with the Italian fans, also known as the Tifosi, along with his tour of the Maranello factory, meeting the employees, and sharing his enthusiasm about being there.

The Ferrari instagram account shared a reel featuring Hamilton's day at the factory, which also included Chairman John Elkann and the driver stepping out and spending time with the fans that had gathered at Maranello. Hamilton also took time to sign some autographs and pose for pictures with the crowd. The video, posted earlier today, was shared with the caption:

"A historic first day in the books"

The driver also shared photographs with the team bosses and the people that work at the factory to his social media account, commemorating his first day with the team. In the caption accompanying the pictures, Lewis conveyed his gratitude for being given an opportunity to represent the 16-time championship title winning team, saying:

"Day one. I’m grateful to John Elkann, Benedetto Vigna and Fred Vasseur for their trust in me and making me part of this family. I’m so excited to start this new era and to meet and work with a hugely talented and inspiring group of people, who have been so welcoming. I’m dedicated to bringing everything I have to deliver for the team, the wider organisation and the fans 🐎 "

Lewis Hamilton is reportedly going to have his first testing session this week, driving the F1-75, Ferrari's 2022 car. However, due to possible poor weather conditions, the team might postpone the testing session or change the venue. Currently, Hamilton's first session in the car would take place at the Fiorano circuit, but based on the weather, they might move it to Mugello or Imola.

Lewis Hamilton will drive the 2025 Ferrari car at the pre-season testing session in Sakhir, Bahrain at the end of February.

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Lewis Hamilton's first photo from Ferrari's factory gets 5 million likes on Instagram

Before getting his day underway at the factory with the employees, bosses and fans, Lewis Hamilton shared an image standing outside Maranello to his Instagram account yesterday. As of writing this, the image has accumulated over 5 million likes on the social media platform.

Hamilton shared the image along with a note about how one of his dreams has been realised with his first day with Ferrari, saying:

"There are some days that you know you’ll remember forever and today, my first as a Ferrari driver, is one of those days. I’ve been lucky enough to have achieved things in my career I never thought possible, but part of me has always held on to that dream of racing in red. I couldn’t be happier to realise that dream today. Today we start a new era in the history of this iconic team, and I can’t wait to see what story we will write together."

Lewis Hamilton's first race for Ferrari, alongside teammate Charles Leclerc, will take place in Melbourne, Australia when the season begins in March.