Photos: Hamilton welcomed to Ferrari by staff, Elkann and Vasseur

Almost a year to the date that Ferrari and Hamilton shocked the sporting world, announcing the Briton would be departing the team that gave him everything - Mercedes - to join the sport's greatest team which the Italian legends are.

Apart from Elkann and Vasseur, there was a guard of honour for a beaming 40-year-old Hamilton, from the door of Ferrari at Via Alfredo Dino Ferrari, 43 through to the engineering bays where the 2025 F1 cars are being built. Excited staff lined his path, shaking his hand and welcoming him to the Scuderia's base.

Earlier in the day, Hamilton wrote on his Instagram post: “There are some days that you know you’ll remember forever and today, my first as a Ferrari driver, is one of those days. I’ve been lucky enough to have achieved things in my career I never thought possible.

"Part of me has always held on to that dream of racing in red. I couldn’t be happier to realise that dream today. 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,” declared Hamilton. His new teammate for 2025, Charles Leclerc did not appear in the video.

Below are screengrabs from the official video sent by Ferrari to mark the historic occasion of Hamilton's arrival at Maranello: