Lewis Hamilton has found a way to dominate a Ferrari headline at Monza without setting a single lap time. He turned up to Thursday’s media day in his own Ferrari F40, a car he has wanted since he was a boy, and by the sound of it the F40 did more for his popularity with the Tifosi than anything he has managed on track this season.
The seven-time world champion arrived in a black suit and tan overcoat, stepping out of a machine that spent more than three decades gathering dust in a garage before Ferrari’s mechanics in Maranello brought it back from the dead. Ferrari built only 1,311 F40s between 1987 and 1992, and clean examples now change hands for around three million. Hamilton’s has his number 44 worked into a personalised plate, because of course it does.
A Lifelong Obsession, Finally Parked in the Garage
Hamilton did not exactly play down how much this car means to him. He explained on social media that the F40 has been the car of his dreams since childhood, and that he made sure to have one waiting for him on his very first day at Maranello when he joined Ferrari last year.
“My very own F40. This is the car of my dreams and has been for as long as I can remember. As a kid I dreamt of having one. When I joined Ferrari last year I made sure to have one with me on my first day at Maranello. That’s how much it means to me.” – Lewis Hamilton
He went on to describe finding this particular example covered in dust after sitting untouched for over thirty years, and thanking the engineers who spent weeks restoring it, as reported by Crash.net.
“These cars are works of art and incredibly rare, so when I found this one, covered in dust after being sat in a garage for over thirty years, I knew I had to bring her home. First to Maranello, where the master engineers and mechanics at the factory worked for weeks to bring her back to life. Massive thank you to everyone who had a hand in this project. This has truly been a dream come true.” – Lewis Hamilton
He sold his entire car collection in 2025, which made the timing of this purchase feel less like a whim and more like a very specific itch that needed scratching. Say what you like about the man’s season, but his taste in classic Ferraris remains impeccable.
Great Theatre, Rather Less Great Form
This is not Hamilton’s first attempt at stealing Monza’s attention before the lights go out. Last year he arrived for qualifying on a tricolore Ducati, and the paddock lapped it up then too. He clearly understands what the Tifosi want from him even when the car in the garage marked with his number is not quite delivering it.
Because here is the part the F40 cannot paper over. Hamilton sits third in the drivers’ championship on 183 points, level with George Russell and a hefty 59 points adrift of championship leader Kimi Antonelli. His most recent results, fourth, fifth and fourth across the last three races, are solid without being remotely title-shaking. Ferrari has not had reason to pop the champagne at home since Leclerc’s win there in 2024, and turning that drought around this weekend would do far more for Hamilton’s stock than any amount of vintage machinery.
Monza Needs a Result, Not Just a Show
Ferrari arrives with what the team has called cautious optimism, as detailed in our Monza verdict piece, but cautious optimism has been the soundtrack of this Ferrari season more often than actual silverware. Team-mate Charles Leclerc sits fifth in the standings, and between them Ferrari has produced exactly one home win in recent memory, which is not the kind of statistic a team with Ferrari’s resources should be comfortable repeating.
None of that will bother the Tifosi lining the fences to catch a glimpse of a genuine F40 rolling through the paddock gates. It is a stunning car, restored properly, and Hamilton clearly means every word about how much it means to him. But Monza does not hand out trophies for the best classic car collection, and after a weekend of heat hazard warnings and a paddock buzzing about engine tokens and upgrades (see our recent recap of the build-up), the only thing that will actually move Hamilton up that 59-point deficit is a proper result on Sunday.
Qualifying gets underway on Saturday at 14:00 UTC, with the race following on Sunday at 13:00 UTC. Check the calendar for your local time if you want to know when to actually watch Hamilton do his day job, rather than admire his garage.
