Maranello isn’t pretty; it’s an industrial town. But it’s a romantic place more than anything else.
You only had to stand on the long bridge on Via Giardini at 8am on Wednesday. It was not a spot for the thin-blooded, yet little girls in bobble hats, an old man next to me on crutches, teenagers and grown-ups, defied toe-freezing temperatures for the sight they craved.
They didn’t know when it would arrive at Ferrari’s private Fiorano test track. So the keenest and hardiest had gathered by 7am. Others came a day earlier just in case.
Yet it was at 9.17am when an engine’s banshee scream emitted the signal for what was fast approaching. Many of the congregation scrambled for their phones. The bridge, where we now thronged up to 10 deep, is close to the opening corners so the amateur cameramen had to act quickly.
The subject of fascination waved as he went by, and then all we could hear again, as he dipped out of view through a thick fog that would have brought the M25 to a standstill, was the engine.
And in those brief seconds Lewis Hamilton fulfilled his dream to drive a Ferrari.
Thousands gathered in Maranello to watch Lewis Hamilton drive a Ferrari for the first time
Hamilton fulfilled his dream in doing so – he has made the move to join them from Mercedes
Hundreds of Tifosi risked their ligaments on the wet grassy bank to get closer to the action
No sentimentality need be spared as he joined a cast numbering Nuvolari, Ascari, Fangio, Lauda, Villeneuve, Prost, and a certain Michael Schumacher, as a pilot in red.
And the folk on the bridge could say they were there when he did.
How many Tifosi attended? Four or five thousand at my guess. Hundreds risked their ligaments on the wet grassy escarpment to get closer to the action, though it is uncertain they could see any better through the catchfence.
A few marshals in high-visibility vests stood around. Parking spaces were all used up and signs not to climb the Armco separating the pedestrian part of the bridge from the traffic were ignored. The crush might have been too much otherwise. Or at least that may have been their excuse for hogging an elevated vantage point.
Cars and trucks hooted to signify their contribution to the party below, just at the point where Maranello and Fiorano meet.
‘Lew-ese,’ shouted some of the pilgrims as Hamilton went past as if coming out of a cloud. Ferrari flags were waved. Banners were festooned, as was one Union Flag.
The Fiorano track was built by Enzo Ferrari. It was the ‘Old Man’, as the wily Italian was known, who took his team 10 miles away from Modena to Maranello during the Second World War. Urbanised Modena, with its railway line and factories, was a target for Allied bombing. Maranello, more agricultural, had a population of 6,500 then. It has some 20,000 now, and is a centre for ceramics and interior design.
Enzo bought five adjoining farms and that is the plot of land on which the current factory stands, home of the gestione sportiva – the racing department.
They chanted Hamilton’s name as Hamilton went past as if he was coming out of a cloud
Everyone wanted to get a glimpse – and a picture – of the seven-time champion in Ferrari red
Hamilton, in red, acknowledged his supporters as his Ferrari unveiling continued at Fiorano
But testing was still conducted in Modena until 1972. As myth has it, Mr Ferrari wanted it on site, at Fiorano, so he could simply sit in his office – outside which Hamilton was pictured on his first day at work on Monday – and listen to the music of his beloved scarlet cars. Or easily marvel at them from trackside. That is part of the romance.
Just 200 yards away from the first of Fiorano’s dozen corners lies Ristorante Montana. It was Schumacher’s favourite haunt when he was Ferrari’s golden son. In repute, he still is, their only five-time world champion.
It has wooden floors, and wooden walls jampacked with Ferrari memorabilia. Race suits, Schumacher’s wing with the numeral ‘1’, pictures galore, tyres, helmets – and many dedications to owners Maurizio and ‘Mamma’ Rossella Giannini.
One is from the 27-year-old who will partner Hamilton in 2025, Charles Leclerc. He wrote: ‘A Rossell, Migliore ristorante al mondo. Grazie di tutto!’
The Gianninis have owned the joint since 1985. It has been open since 1967, and acts as a living memorial to Ferrari.
Maurizio is front of house, along with other members of the family; ‘Mamma’ is the presiding genius downstairs in the kitchen.
There is a little dining room at the back with its sliding doors, on which hangs a picture of ‘Mamma’ with Carlos Sainz, the Spaniard whom Hamilton is replacing this season. This was the area of the restaurant where Schumacher ate.
And on Tuesday night, Lewis dined there with his father Anthony, mother Carmen and stepmother Linda, in company with Piero Ferrari, the second and only surviving son of Enzo Ferrari.
200 yards away from Fiorano’s first corner is Ristorante Montana – Michael Schumacher’s favourite haunt when he was Ferrari’s golden son
Hamilton dined there with father Anthony, mother Carmen and stepmother Linda, along with Piero Ferrari (pictured) on Tuesday
It was Piero himself, a serious billionaire and vice-chairman of the company, who dealt directly with Hamilton over many years when the now seven-time world champion was buying his Ferrari road cars. Strictly speaking, then, this week was not the first time Hamilton has gone through the gates of the Maranello factory.
Eschewing no hardship in the name of research, I called in on Wednesday lunchtime to see Maurizio, and to order a plate of gramigna con salsiccia and a glass of Sangiovese. I asked this veteran of Ferrari drivers how he found Hamilton on first appearances as he tucked into his vegetarian ragu.
Maurizio, grey of hair and warm of nature, smiled. ‘Perfecto,’ he said. ‘No arrogance. Tranquillo. He is just right for Ferrari.’ He also moved his forearm backwards and forwards in a shoving movement, which meant tough enough, too, when needed.
I had bumped into Anthony Hamilton earlier that night. I reminded him that some of us had never wavered from a conviction that Lewis would end up at Ferrari before he hung up his crash helmet. ‘Do you know why?’ I asked.
‘Was it because I always said so?’ he smiled.
‘Yes, 18 years ago,’ I replied. He laughed and nodded. He also averred that Lewis had trained like mad over the winter and that his focus and belief are total.
‘You know what?’ Anthony added, thinking back to 2007 and Lewis’s debut: ‘This feels just like the first day at McLaren.’
In another echo of ages past, Hamilton wore a yellow helmet yesterday, the colour matching the Ferrari crest, but only a few shades different from the one he first donned karting as a kid at Rye House, Hertfordshire, so his father could spot him. There is a sense of an emotional circle being closed here, even as Hamilton moves for more than £50million a year.
Anthony Hamilton always said his son, Lewis, would end up at Ferrari – that has now happened
Hamilton completed 30 laps of acclimatisation on Wednesday, working with new race engineer Riccardo Adami
He described driving a Ferrari as ‘one of the best feelings of my life’ when his stint was over
Hamilton must know what he is getting into. He can hardly miss that Enzo Ferrari’s name is plastered all over Maranello – a number of streets, a statue and a park, probably more, are named after him.
He can see that the roundabout bang in the middle of town has a giant Prancing Horse, Ferrari’s emblem, right at the heart of it. The actual Museo Ferrari – not Montana’s ersatz version – is up the road from the factory buildings, which are as grey and functional behind their giant yellow ‘Ferrari’ sign as you could imagine, for all its magic.
On Wednesday, Hamilton, who incidentally looked trim as he posed in his new red overalls, completed 30 laps of acclimatisation, working with new race engineer Riccardo Adami, whom he kept on after a long chat about Ferrari in general with his predecessor, pal and four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel.
‘Driving a Ferrari was one of the best feelings of my life,’ said Hamilton, when his stint was over. ‘I had the biggest smile on my face driving through the garage doors. Here I am experiencing exciting and special moments nearly 20 years on from the very first time.
‘I already knew how passionate the Ferrari family are. But seeing the Tifosi first-hand was awe-inspiring.’
It would not have been in Hamilton’s mind yesterday but next to the roundabout stands the red brick Church of San Biagio. When I went in it was dark, hushed and uninhabited, save for one old lady praying. Its stained-glass windows were almost translucent despite the grey sky outside.
As tradition has it, they ring the bells in the tall tower beyond the north transept whenever Ferrari win, which they have done a record 249 times.
Aged 40, desperate for an eighth world title, Hamilton knows they must soon toll for him.
