Fiorano, 5 a.m. On the bridge overlooking the track, there are already fans fighting against the night; as the sky brightens, more and more people gather on those meters of asphalt, all waiting to see a red single-seater adorned with the number 44. Lewis Hamilton emerges from the garage, stays out for about two hours, waves to the crowd on the hills, and returns. A simple task, under the watchful eyes of photographers and television crews who never used to care about “tests with previous cars.” But this was one of the most anticipated and talked-about debuts in recent years, to the point that many claimed, “We haven’t seen a scene like this since Michael Schumacher‘s time.”
The highlight of the day came later when Lewis Hamilton approached the fences to meet the fans. As soon as he took off his helmet, Lewis had a big smile plastered on his face—one of those smiles that had been missing for a while, seen only at Silverstone and on a few other occasions in recent months. A hand on his heart as a gesture of gratitude, his eyes filled with joy, with his mother and father as witnesses on a crucial day in his career. Amid the chatter, speculations, and expectations, the real Lewis returned. A man who never stopped dreaming, who knows what he wants and how he wants it. Who knows if he will win the eighth title or bring success back to Maranello; numbers no longer seem to be his priority, although he still maintains a fair amount of competitive hunger.
Perhaps the question is not what Lewis will bring to Ferrari but what Ferrari will give to Lewis. “The fulfillment of a dream,” said the Briton, who wanted to end his career without regrets. So, credit to someone who, at 40, decided to take on a new challenge, and to do it primarily for himself, with the maturity that only his experience can bring, at a time when comparisons will weigh more heavily.
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