The Editor: Ferrari’s statement of intent
“By fusing the world’s most storied race team with arguably history’s greatest driver, F1 now has an irresistible cocktail”
Visitors to Ferrari’s famous HQ in Maranello have in recent weeks noticed an addition to the famous campus. It is a huge 42,500 square metre glass and steel factory building on the northern edge of the existing site which was unveiled over the summer. Ferrari refers to it as the E-building and it represents the biggest expansion of the marque’s factory for decades.
It also represents a bold vision of the future: it is here that Ferrari’s new generation of models will be built – including the first all-electric Ferrari which will roll off the production line next year. The facility is a statement of intent by the company which built its first road car 78 years ago as it pushes into a rapidly changing automotive reality.
“The Lewis brand reaches people outside the traditional F1 congregation”
The same can be said of its signing of Lewis Hamilton for the Scuderia. The seven-time world champion was at Maranello’s factory on January 20 for his official first day at the office. At 40 Hamilton is hardly a poster boy for the new generation of racers but crucially the Lewis brand reaches people outside the traditional Formula 1 congregation. His flamboyant music and fashion interests already set him apart, as do his outspoken support of social causes and his championing of increased participation in the sport of underrepresented groups, be that based on ethnicity or gender or finance. Some may mock, but these are concerns that are important to many and especially to the new generation of F1 fans. By embracing them Hamilton – and now Ferrari – are embracing the future too.
In this special issue of the magazine we celebrate both Ferrari’s past and Hamilton’s new adventure. By fusing the world’s most storied race team with arguably history’s greatest driver, F1 now has an irresistible cocktail on its hands that has the potential to thrill existing fans and appeal to new ones.
As Hamilton said at the beginning of his new job: “Today we start a new era in the history of this iconic team, and I can’t wait to see what story we will write together.”
Neither can we.