Ferrari reveals personal impact of ‘demonstration of love’ for Hamilton

Piero Ferrari, son of the Scuderia's legendary owner Enzo, has described how he felt near disbelief at the welcome Lewis Hamilton received from the Tifosi on his first days with the team.

Hamilton took centre stage last week, initially via a meet-and-greet at the Maranello factory, accompanied by photos of him standing outside Enzo Ferrari's house, and alongside his favourite supercar, the F40.

Two days later, around 2,000 fans lined Ferrari's Fiorano test track to catch a glimpse of the seven-time F1 champion, who made his debut in the red overalls by driving 30 laps in a two-year-old SF-23.

Hamilton was later driven to a part of the circuit where fans had gathered, greeting him as he stepped out with chants of 'Lewis! Lewis!'

"I almost couldn't believe it!" said Piero Ferrari, speaking to Autosprint. "All that true passion struck me.

"The people on the little bridge overlooking the Fiorano track, invading the cycle path, was a demonstration of love. Beautiful!"

Ferrari, who owns just over 10 per cent of the automotive company, has further described Hamilton's reaction upon seeing the fans.

"I went to greet him when he set foot in Fiorano, welcoming him," said Ferrari. "He had seen the fans waiting for him from the car windows, and he was happy, surprised."

As to what caught Ferrari by surprise was the way Hamilton "presented himself", wearing a black suit and tie, and a black overcoat.

"I don't remember other drivers so elegant on their first day at Ferrari," he said. "An impeccable suit, a tie, a sketch. We managers, for example, were without ties..."

Hamilton 'out of the ordinary'

Ferrari has confirmed that his discussions with Hamilton that day were not the first he had conducted over the years.

It is now known that Hamilton had disclosed to Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur, in the days when the 40-year-old was racing for the Frenchman's junior team two decades ago, that he desired to race for the Scuderia.

It was not until last year, however, that the stars aligned.

"Over the years we talked and joked, here and there," said Ferrari. "Several times he expressed to me his desire to race with us, but he was tied to Mercedes and we were tied to our drivers.

"Then the moment came when both Lewis and we saw the opportunity to start negotiations. And the signature arrived."

Hamilton's outing in the SF-23 was not the first time he had been behind the wheel.

The Briton is known to be a lover of the company's road cars, but was unable to express his admiration too often in public given his previous allegiances to Mercedes.

"The first time he came to us was when he bought LaFerrari, it was 2014," said Ferrari. "He spent a lot of time in the factory studying how to customise it.

"Then, towards the evening, he said hello and I asked him if he wanted to stay for dinner with me. He was enthusiastic.

"We talked about cars but not only [that], and I discovered a truly pleasant person, out of the ordinary."