Hamilton Ferrari love-in must now become strictly business at Australian Grand Prix

It seems strange to suggest, after winning six world championships and some 84 grand prix with Mercedes, that Lewis Hamilton needed a new lease of life in Formula 1 – but that is exactly what he has enjoyed since moving to Ferrari.

The news of his switch to Italy was announced over a year ago but now he has swapped his silver arrow for a prancing horse, there is a renewed vigour to Hamilton, even on the cusp of his 19th season in F1.

He has done much to build an instant relationship with his new team and its famous fanbase, which flocked en masse to Fiorano on a cold, foggy January morning to watch Hamilton complete 30 steady laps in old machinery.

But the occasion also meant something to Hamilton, both his mother and father were in attendance as he donned the red race suit (outside of a photoshoot) for the first time.

The fact he had already posted a picture of him wearing his new overalls, breaking the F1-corner of the internet in the process, was another example of how he was being welcomed into the Ferrari fold.

The most-liked F1 image in the history of Instagram and a picture that instantly showed his financial worth to the team, social media lapped up the content, with Hamilton also snapped outside Enzo Ferrari’s historic home, draped in Italian fashion and in front of an F40 – a veritable easter egg hunt for fans.

His Duolingo clearly having taken a battering over the winter, Hamilton then turned his hand to speaking Italian in front of the Ferrari factory crew – he always knew what he needed to commit to, especially given how ingrained in the team’s culture his new team-mate Charles Leclerc already is, to make the transition as smooth as possible.

Away from his new team, Hamilton has also started to live his best life and, at 40, probably became one of the oldest TikTok users when he set up his new account on the eve of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, amassing 245,000 followers in less than a day.

How chilled is the knight of the realm? Well, posting a video of him ‘appearing’ in one of his favourite movies, ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ and roping in Hollywood actor Ed Norton alongside him shows he is having plenty of fun – although maybe proof that it was wise for Hamilton’s role in the upcoming F1 film to be largely behind the camera…

However, the good will, the long welcome, the red carpet and – most importantly – the hopes pinned on him to deliver a first drivers’ title to Maranello since 2007 (incidentally the year he debuted in the championship) will all quickly dissipate if he does not deliver on track.

For all of his record-equalling seven titles, Hamilton is up against a strong, confident, fast team-mate in Leclerc, while his somewhat alarming drop-off in qualifying performance will also need addressing.

Pre-season testing often yields little correlation to performance once the chips are down, although Hamilton setting the second-fastest time across the three days will have been a boost.

To Albert Park, then, where the Hamilton/Ferrari journey begins in earnest.

A track where he has won only twice (2008 and 2015), victory will not be expected of him this time around, given the pace of the McLarens, but a strong showing when it matters will start Hamilton off on the right foot.

The latest stage of the latter part of his glittering career has started with kind words, iconic imagery and Matthew Broderick but now has to switch to pure performance on the track.

It might be a challenge but, as Hamilton riffs in his modern-day Ferris Bueller cameo before driving off in a Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder: “Relax. You fellas have nothing to worry about, I’m a professional.”