"There are two religions in Italy, there's the Catholic church and there's Ferrari": When Pundit explained the significance of Hamilton's new team

Ferrari is the most successful manufacturer in the history of F1. The team hails out of Italy and has a large fanbase, which was pointed out by Will Buxton, who once said that Ferrari is itself a religion within the European country comparable to the Catholic Church.

Before moving onto the IndyCar sphere, Buxton was the face of F1 journalists. Moreover, he had an immense role in the Netflix docuseries 'Drive to Survive', where the 44-year-old often narrated scenes.

Similarly, in DTS Season 6, Episode 8 (Forza Ferrari) released in 2024, the Briton mentioned how Italians are passionate about the elusive Scuderia. Will Buxton then mentioned the Catholic church and prancing horses are revered within Italy.

"For Italians, it's life. There are two religions in Italy, there's the Catholic church and there's Ferrari," he said (4:21 onwards)

Lewis Hamilton has joined the Italian powerhouse for the 2025 season, replacing Williams-bound Carlos Sainz.

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Lewis Hamilton opens up on his experience as a Ferrari F1 driver

Lewis Hamilton at the F1 75 Live - Show - Source: Getty

Since joining the prancing horses, Lewis Hamilton has been on a proactive testing schedule. The seven-time champion has driven three different F1 cars from the Italian giant and has even had an off with the SF-23 in Spain.

Despite the ups and downs, it is a new chapter in the 40-year-old's racing career. When asked about his time as a Ferrari driver, he said (via Formula 1):

"I’m getting the biggest buzz every time just putting my kit on. I walk out and there’s the Ferrari sign, and I’m like ‘I’m actually really here’. I’m in this beautiful old building that Enzo had his office in. Each day, I’m reminded that it’s really happening. I’m really proud of the shield. And I just want to work as hard as I can with the great people to elevate them and the brand as high as possible."

The prancing horses have been unable to win a championship in the past 16 years. Despite this, Hamilton asserted his faith in the team and added:

"I do believe this team has absolutely everything to win – we’ve just got to build one step at a time. We don’t know what everyone else is bringing. We’ll just get to Bahrain and we’ll just keep our head down and focus on doing our job and maximising our three days. And we’ll see how we are when we turn up to Melbourne."

The Brit will now be seen driving the 2025 challenger at the pre-season testing in Bahrain from February 26-28. Then, the F1 sphere will have to wait for two weeks before the 2025 season breaks into action at the first race in Melbourne, which is scheduled to take place on Sunday, March 16.