It’s a new Lewis Hamilton that the fans are getting to see at Ferrari, full of zest for life and desire – and someone who (soon) speaks Italian
Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel led the way: anyone who signs for Ferrari had better learn Italian to build a better relationship with the mechanics in the legendary team and to win the hearts of the tifosi faster.
Lewis Hamilton apparently took this as a role model after his move to the Scuderia, because as the Briton reveals, he is already studying Italian hard!
“I’m learning it bit by bit. It’s a lot, but I’ve always loved Italy,” explains the Briton, reminiscing about his childhood: ‘When I was at school, we learned French, and that was the only thing at school that I was really good at. But as soon as I left school, I practically stopped speaking French,’ which is why his current knowledge is limited, says Hamilton.
Hamilton thinks of karting, ice cream, pizza and pasta
But his relationship with Italy is a different story: “I did a lot of karting in Italy when I was 13 years old – I think that was from 1997 to 2001. I was in Italy a lot and that was probably my favorite time until then.” He “hated” school at home in England. The 40-year-old recalls: “School wasn’t going well, but on weekends I’d always go to Italy alone – and then I’d have ice cream,” Hamilton laughs.
But it didn’t stop there, because today’s record world champion really indulged himself back then: “God, I had so many pizzas, I wanted to find the best lasagna and pasta. The food was just so good.” So for Hamilton, Ferrari is the perfect place to end his career not only from a sporting point of view, but also for the man of pleasure within him: “I’m really, really excited to be back in Italy.”
Hence his urge to “integrate into Italian culture” as quickly as possible, as Hamilton puts it: “I’m already looking at places I could visit, and I always ask people where I can get the best Italian food. It’s really interesting. You have people from the south and north, east and west, and everyone has their own opinion on where to find the best food in Italy.
“Of course, you can’t get an answer because everyone always says where they come from,” laughs Hamilton. ‘But I’m really looking forward to trying as much as possible during my time here.’ So, no matter how the adventure in red turns out for the record-breaking champion in sporting terms, on a personal level, Hamilton has already won by making the switch…
