Lewis Hamilton ahead of Ferrari debut: 'Not here to prove anything'

Lewis Hamilton is only days away from his debut with Ferrari at the Australian Grand Prix, but the seven-time world champion said the only pressure he feels is from within.

Hamilton shocked the Formula 1 world when he signed with the iconic Italian team in February 2024 before closing out his historic 12-year run with Mercedes. While Mercedes struggled, Ferrari finished second in the constructors standings.

Hamilton has now replaced Carlos Sainz, who moved on to Williams, and has teamed with Charles Leclerc to form one of the top driver tandems on the grid.

With Ferrari coming off a second-place finish last year and adding arguably the sport's greatest ever driver, expectations are heightened for 2025. The 40-year-old Hamilton is seeking an elusive eighth title while Ferrari is looking for its first championship since 2008.

"I don't feel the pressure," he told reporters on Thursday. "The outside pressure is non-existent for me. The pressure is from within and what I want to achieve.

"I'm not here to prove anything to anybody. I don't feel I have to do anything. I've been here a long, long time and done it time and time again."

Between McLaren and Mercedes, all of Hamilton's world championships have come while driving cars powered by Mercedes engines. The Briton also is transitioning from the United Kingdom-based Mercedes to the Italian outfit.

"I'm under no assumptions that it will be easy. It is not," he said. "I'm back at square one.

"I'm still learning this new car that's quite a lot different to what I've driven for all my previous career in the sense of Mercedes power. Coming into Ferrari power, it's something quite new -- different vibration, different feel, different way of working.

"The whole team works completely differently. I was just sitting looking at the race trace from last year, and it's upside down compared to the previous one. You're looking at things from a different perspective, which makes it exciting and challenging."

A two-time winner in Australia, Hamilton insisted he did not have any expectations entering the weekend other than joking that he hoped to finish in the points. He will get two practice sessions on Friday ahead of Saturday's qualifying.

"This is the most exciting period of my life, and so I'm really just enjoying it," he said. "I'm so excited to get in the car tomorrow."

--Field Level Media