HAMILTON SHIFTS GEARS FROM DREAM TO TITLE

Briton excited to start racing with Ferrari, whom he feels have what it takes to succeed

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Lewis Hamilton will look to lay down an immediate marker against world champion Max Verstappen when the Briton makes his highly anticipated Ferrari debut at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix this week.

The former Mercedes ace Hamilton is bidding for a record eighth world title and his first since 2020 after being outshone by the Dutchman and his imperious Red Bull team over the intervening years.

A bombshell move to Ferrari after a glorious 12-year spell at Mercedes has rejuvenated the 40-year-old, who is eager to apply the lessons learnt from 162 laps of testing at Bahrain in February to race conditions.

"I'm so excited to get to the first race in Melbourne. I can't wait to go racing with them," Hamilton said of Ferrari.

"The passion here is like nothing you've ever seen. They've got absolutely every ingredient they need to win a world championship, and it's just about putting all the pieces together." Hamilton has tasted victory twice before at the fast and bumpy Albert Park circuit with McLaren and Mercedes, but not since 2015.

Ferrari have fared better, winning four of the last six Australian races including in 2024 when Carlos Sainz, the man Hamilton replaced, took the chequered flag ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc.