Lewis Hamilton seen copying Sebastian Vettel ritual at Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton has been spotted following in Sebastian Vettel’s footsteps at Ferrari by taking written notes.

The seven-time world champion has been pictured writing in a notebook throughout his first two weeks at Ferrari, having completed his blockbuster switch from F1 rivals Mercedes.

Vettel famously wrote in a notebook when he joined Ferrari back in 2015 as he took notes about every session.

“In general I love to take notes,” Vettel said back in 2020. “I take digital notes with an iPad a bit now, but I prefer just pen and paper. When you write with a pen, it’s like you write it into your head, you remember it.

“Also, these days, the hardware in the iPad or computer changes so often and while I’m very organised in life, with that stuff, I’m not so organised. So I don’t have folders to keep for the next generation of computer/platform, and so a lot of the stuff gets lost.

“But if I write it down, I’m not going to chuck the notebooks away, I still have notebooks from 2007 and so on. They are useless now, but they are still there. They are all stacked up in a bookshelf.”

Hamilton is a perfectionist and appears to have adopted the same attention-to-detail approach as his fellow multiple world champion and close friend.

The 40-year-old Briton reportedly called Vettel for advice as he gears up for his first season with Ferrari.

Hamilton has been continuing his preparations for the 2025 F1 season by testing for Ferrari at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya this week.

Along with new teammate Charles Leclerc, Hamilton drove a 2023 Ferrari on Tuesday as part of a three-day private test at the Spanish Grand Prix venue.

The tests are aimed at helping Hamilton’s acclimatisation with the team and getting him up to speed ahead of the new campaign.

Hamilton has been learning Ferrari’s working practices and establishing a relationship with new race engineer Riccardo Adami.

No official details have been released about the test, but Hamilton drove in the afternoon, taking over from Leclerc.

Ferrari are said to be focusing on two key aspects during the behind closed doors test; tyre wear and race starts - two weaknesses of the team’s car in recent years. 

Hamilton is seeking to win a record-breaking eighth world title at Ferrari, an achievement which would see him surpass Ferrari's most successful driver, Michael Schumacher.