Stella admits to ‘excitement’ over Hamilton’s Ferrari switch

McLaren team boss Andrea Stella has given his take on Lewis Hamilton’s first appearance as a Ferrari driver, describing it as “historic” for F1 and something he was “excited to see” during the build-up to the new season.

Hamilton has made the switch to Ferrari for 2025 after more than a decade at Mercedes, where he won six of his seven world titles – the other being achieved in the early stages of his career with McLaren.

Over the last couple of weeks, content from Hamilton’s arrival at Ferrari’s Maranello factory, as well as initial outings at their dedicated Fiorano test track and in Barcelona, has sparked interest around the world.

Hamilton has been getting used to life at Ferrari after officially switching from Mercedes

One interested onlooker was Stella, the Italian having spent a significant amount of his F1 career at Ferrari in various engineering roles, working with the likes of Michael Schumacher, Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso.

“Observing from a distance, I can say that I think how this has been reported, it was a great introduction of Lewis to Ferrari,” Stella, who moved from Ferrari to McLaren 10 years ago and became Team Principal in early 2023, told Sky Sports F1.

“To be honest, as a fan of F1, by having been 15 years at Ferrari before, I felt excited myself to see something that is historic for F1 – a seven-time World Champion going to Ferrari, one of the most iconic teams.”

Stella is now fired up for what looks set to be a fascinating F1 season, as McLaren attempt to defend their Constructors’ title – having earned their first since 1998 last season – while Red Bull’s Max Verstappen targets another Drivers’ crown and the likes of Ferrari and Mercedes push to get back to winning ways.

Lewis Hamilton's first days in Ferrari red

“I think Ferrari and Hamilton handled this very well, but ultimately, I’m sure they know very well that what counts is what’s happening on track,” Stella continued.

“After the initial excitement, I’m sure they will focus very much on making sure that the preparation is good, and on our side, we will try and make their life a little bit difficult!”

All 10 teams will soon gather to kick off F1’s 75th anniversary year with a special launch event at London’s The O2 on February 18, before heading out to Bahrain for pre-season testing from February 26-28.