Lewis Hamilton has revealed how an unexpected gesture from Ferrari mechanics at the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix gave him the feeling that the Scuderia was already his team, long before his eventual move to Maranello.
The seven-time Formula 1 world champion was still driving for Mercedes at the time and would not agree his Ferrari switch until the break between the 2023 and 2024 seasons. Yet what happened after Hamilton finished third at Marina Bay left a lasting impression on him and became one of the moments he continued to cherish after eventually joining the Italian team.
Lewis Hamilton remembers Ferrari gesture at 2023 Singapore GP
Hamilton finished third in Singapore behind race winner Carlos Sainz, the man he would eventually replace at Ferrari, and McLaren driver Lando Norris. The result was particularly significant during a difficult campaign for Mercedes, who collected only eight podium finishes across the season as Red Bull dominated the championship.
When Hamilton arrived in parc ferme after the race, however, he was surprised to discover that several members of his Mercedes crew were not there to celebrate with him. The explanation emerged afterwards: some Mercedes mechanics had remained behind to recover George Russell’s car following his late accident.
That absence created an unusual moment. Ferrari mechanics congratulated Hamilton instead, even though he remained one of their rivals at the time. Fred Vasseur, who had previously worked with Hamilton during his junior career and would later become his Ferrari team principal, was also present on the podium as the Scuderia celebrated Sainz’s victory.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 during the Italian Grand Prix weekend, Hamilton explained that the episode was something he had always cherished about Ferrari. He recalled climbing out of his Mercedes expecting to celebrate with his own crew, only to find they were not there. With Ferrari personnel instead joining his celebrations, Hamilton remembered feeling as though the Scuderia had effectively become his team for that weekend.
Ferrari connection existed long before Hamilton joined Maranello
The Singapore episode was not the only indication of the warmth between Hamilton and Ferrari personnel before they eventually worked together. The Ferrari crew would encourage him to join them when he passed their garage, although for years the prospect of the Briton actually racing in red appeared increasingly unlikely as he approached his 40th birthday.
Hamilton had spent the most successful period of his Formula 1 career with Mercedes. His 246 starts for the Silver Arrows made it the longest driver-team partnership in F1 history, while six of his seven drivers’ world championships came during that spell.
Those peak years coincided with Mercedes’ era of dominance, reducing the incentive to leave a team with which Hamilton was collecting championships and race victories. The situation gradually changed during the ground-effect era as Mercedes slipped away from the position they had occupied at the front of Formula 1.
Hamilton had nevertheless dreamed of driving for Ferrari for years. Having previously fought Ferrari drivers including Felipe Massa and Sebastian Vettel for world championships, the Briton knew that reaching the end of his career without ever racing for the Maranello team would have remained one of his major regrets.
How Lewis Hamilton finally made his Ferrari move
The opportunity eventually materialised between the 2023 and 2024 seasons. Hamilton had the option to leave before the second year of his final Mercedes agreement and signed a contract to become a Ferrari driver from 2025.
That decision brought one of Formula 1’s most successful drivers together with its most famous team, turning a long-standing ambition into reality. It also gave the 2023 Singapore memory a different significance: the mechanics who had spontaneously celebrated Hamilton’s podium as rivals would later become his colleagues.
His transition to Ferrari has since developed into a substantial chapter of his career. Across his first 38 races for the Scuderia, Hamilton has recorded one victory, five podium finishes and 347 points.
The move has also reunited him with Vasseur at another stage of his career. The Frenchman had known Hamilton from his junior-category days before ultimately becoming the team principal responsible for bringing the seven-time world champion into Ferrari’s Formula 1 project.
Hamilton’s long-held Ferrari ambition became reality
The significance of Hamilton’s move therefore stretches beyond the circumstances surrounding his departure from Mercedes. Ferrari had occupied a prominent place throughout his Formula 1 career, first as a championship rival and eventually as the team he felt he needed to represent before retiring.
Years before that move was confirmed, the Singapore podium provided Hamilton with an unexpected glimpse of the relationship he would later have with the people inside the Scuderia. What was initially an unusual post-race celebration with a rival team’s mechanics ultimately became a memorable precursor to his own Ferrari career.
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