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Long-time Ferrari mechanic Francesco Cigarini believes Lewis Hamilton has rallied the Scuderia around him in a way that they have been missing since Michael Schumacher.
Cigarini saw first-hand what Schumacher brought to Ferrari during their dominant era in the early 2000s. The Italian also saw how the likes of Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel, and more recently Charles Leclerc, have tried to shape Ferrari in their hopes for an F1 title in red.
Ferrari first hired Cigarini back in 1999, and he remained in Maranello through to the end of the 2021 F1 season. Over that time, Schumacher won his five titles in a row from 2000 until 2004, Alonso came close to a crown in 2010 and 2012, and Vettel fell shy in 2017 and 2018.
Yet Hamilton could now end Ferrari’s wait for their first F1 drivers’ championship since 2007 with Kimi Raikkonen. After Hamilton claimed his first Ferrari Grand Prix win in Barcelona last week, the seven-time champion trails Mercedes ace Andrea Kimi Antonelli by just 41 points.
Lewis Hamilton is now only missing a Grand Prix pole position for Ferrari 🏆 Predict when it will come?
Lewis Hamilton has made Ferrari rally around him just like Michael Schumacher did
Ferrari’s emergence as a contender for the 2026 drivers’ championship has come in no small part due to team principal Fred Vasseur realising some of the changes that Hamilton sought. And Cigarini feels Ferrari rallying around Hamilton is just like the team did with Schumacher.
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“Hamilton, in terms of dynamics, reminds me a bit of Michael,” Cigarini told Fanpage. “A champion has to make it clear that he is a champion, and he has to make it clear what he wants. It’s clear that the people around the champion do a lot of this – they have to be encouraged, they have to take in what he says and put it into practice. That’s the difference.
“In some cases, I haven’t seen this in the past [at Ferrari]. A champion is a champion. But within the team, both on the track and in Maranello, they have to be warriors and at the service of that champion. They have to believe strongly.”
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Cigarini believes the character that Hamilton is showing at Ferrari this term is especially akin to what he experienced throughout Schumacher’s years in Maranello. Hamilton has brought Ferrari together in a way that is “typical of great champions”, like himself and Schumacher.
“The characteristics of great champions,” Cigarini added. “The one who brings the whole team along with him, who creates empathy, who inspires the team members to push, to give more, to come up with ideas, to unleash themselves. It’s typical of great champions.”
A clear sign of how Ferrari have rallied to support Hamilton can be seen in Vasseur securing a way for the 41-year-old to use Carbon Industrie brake discs on his SF-26, despite the team having long-standing ties to Brembo. Leclerc has also now sought to copy Hamilton’s set-up.
It is said that Hamilton caused ructions at Ferrari by demanding Carbon Industrie brake discs on his car, as he prefers the instant feel they offer compared to the gradual feeling Brembo’s discs give. Yet Vasseur found a way to grant Hamilton’s wish, and Ferrari are benefitting now.
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