Jeremy Clarkson pulled no punches as he criticised Lewis Hamilton's behaviour during his first week at Ferrari.
On Monday, Hamilton officially began his journey as a Scuderia Ferrari driver as he arrived at the team's base in Maranello.
Two days later, the seven-time Formula 1 world champion completed 30 laps around the team's test track in Fiorano as fans finally got a glimpse of Hamilton in his new colours.
However, former Top Gear and The Grand Tour presenter Clarkson was less than impressed with the 40-year-old's antics during his first week at Ferrari.
Writing in his latest column for The Sun, Clarkson questioned Hamilton's eagerness to win a record-breaking eighth F1 title while revealing what he's heard about Ferrari's car for the upcoming season.
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He began: "It could be argued that Lewis Hamilton wants a record-breaking eighth world championship before he retires, and moved to Ferrari because he reckons that this year they will have the fastest car. He may have a point. Early indications on the rumour mill suggest it’s very fast indeed.
"However, if he’s so keen on that eighth world title, you’d imagine that he’d have arrived at the factory on day one, keen to know the car’s secrets and how he can extract the most from its vast arsenal of racing trickery."
Clarkson continued: "Instead, he turned up in an SUV in a suit and tie and posed for pictures before talking to fans, under the watchful eye of a video drone which luckily was there to capture the moment.
"Next, there was a tour of the team’s headquarters where, in slow motion, we saw the fawning engineers and the applause. And then, eventually, he went on to the track, in an F1 Ferrari that’s three years old.
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"I’m told his new house isn’t anywhere near the team’s HQ. It’s in Milan, and he doesn’t even commute in a Ferrari road car, choosing instead to use Fiat’s helicopter. It made me wonder. What is Lewis now? A driver? Or a superstar?"
The 64-year-old then explained why Hamilton will have his work cut out against teammate Charles Leclerc.
Clarkson added: "What I do know is he’ll have his work cut out to beat his team-mate Charles Leclerc, who speaks Italian, knows the team, doesn’t spend quite so long posing for pictures and, thanks to a single-lap shootout, is regarded by many to be the fastest driver of them all.
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"Maybe Lewis is aware of this. And maybe he signed for Ferrari for a different reason – he knows he’s past his prime now and he didn’t want to retire having never driven for motorsport’s crown jewel. Either way, I wish him well."
The first race of the 2025 season will take place in Melbourne, Australia in March.
Topics: Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Formula 1
Marcus Chan