When Lewis Hamilton arrives at the Scuderia Ferrari In early 2025, the image is powerful. The seven-time world champion poses in front of a Ferrari F40 at Maranello. The symbolism is powerful, almost too obvious. Soon, a rumor spread: Hamilton was not only dreaming of winning in red, he also wanted to leave a lasting mark on Ferrari's history. His idea already had a name, almost a personal manifesto: F44. At the time, the project was the stuff of dreams. By the end of 2025, however, it seemed to have been discreetly shelved.
The dream of a modern tribute to the F40
Right from the start of his first season with Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton made no secret of his ambition. To design a road-going Ferrari, inspired by the F40, with a manual gearbox. A radical, emotional car, almost against the grain of modern, over-assisted hypercars. In the paddocks, there are whispers that Maranello is seriously considering the idea. Some imagine a Ferrari Icona, others a technical base derived from the SF90 or even the LaFerrari, without hybridization, with a noble engine and a more raw approach.
An F44 that never got beyond the design stage
According to several Italian sources who appeared in the autumn of 2025, the project was finally abandoned, or at least suspended. Journalist Giorgio Terruzzi talks on a podcast about a silent cancellation of the Ferrari F44, well before a prototype took shape. According to the same information, Lewis Hamilton had a very difficult time of it. The project was promised to him, then withdrawn, in an increasingly tense context surrounding his sporting performance. Ferrari, true to its culture of secrecy, has obviously not confirmed anything. But several well-informed voices converge on the same conclusion: the F44 is off the table, at least for the time being.
Ferrari heritage and red lines not to be crossed
Internally, the debate would have been sensitive. Some felt that using the F40 icon for a car associated with a driver's number was a slippery slope. The F40 celebrated 40 years of Ferrari, under the eye of Enzo Ferrari. The F44, on the other hand, would have celebrated above all a man, Lewis Hamilton. For a brand so attached to its heritage, there's a fine line between homage and dilution of history. All the more so as Icona projects are already highly codified, designed to stand the test of time independently of current sporting events. In this context, Ferrari would have preferred to temporize, or even step back.
The 2025 season that changes everything
The timing clearly didn't help Lewis Hamilton. His first season with Ferrari turned out to be much more difficult than expected. Early eliminations in qualifying, strategic errors and a total absence of podiums: a fact unseen in his career since his Formula 1 debut. Faced with a more consistent Charles Leclerc, Ferrari found itself under pressure. The priorities are clear: performance, sporting credibility, preparation for 2026 and the new regulations. Passion projects, seductive though they may be, take a back seat. In this climate, an emotional supercar driven by a driver in sporting difficulties becomes politically delicate.
All may not be lost
However, it would be premature to speak of a definitive abandonment. Ferrari recently proved that it knows how to play with its history without betraying it. The one-off SC40a direct homage to the 296 GTB-based F40, is a striking example. The concept digital F76 also showed that Maranello is not afraid to explore its past in innovative ways. Above all, rumors of a future Ferrari Icona SP4 remains, with a feature that immediately makes you dream: a manual gearbox. The F44 may not be dead. It may simply have arrived too soon.
Ferrari takes a long-term view. Lewis Hamilton is under contract for several seasons, and 2026 could reshuffle the sporting cards. A return to the forefront, a positive dynamic, and the discourse could change.
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Any body that believes F1 is driver ability is a mug
Jenson button is a perfect I e
Winner noughr before or after
Same is proving true from a Hamilton mistake change to fariree
I'm sorry my mistake
Good job he's off shore in a cab haven
A guy that was told by Mercedes not to use the race card.
I'm sure he support Oprah in all her endeavours
The slanderer off it for him to hire
A ex mercedes guy to sort out Ferrari lollllllll argggggggg
Must be the tool and not tool how sad I'm so sorry for Lewis maybe go couriering like the rest off us an make ends meet
It's more like a spoiled child's whim.
What's more, no driver has ever been awarded a Ferrari in his honour, not even the unfortunate Schumi, who with 11 titles brought to the Scuderia richly deserves it.
We can only mention the special liveries for the brand's 70th anniversary, one of which is based on Schumacher's F200x and the other on Niki Lauda's red and white.
In the same spirit, and more recently, there are the matte black liveries enhanced by a red and white stripe and flanked by the number 16, Charles Leclerc's own number. But these are precisely the Monegasque driver's personal Ferraris.
There's nothing to stop Hamilton from ordering a Ferrari from the current range, the latest Testarossa or even better, the F80 (even if they've already sold out, but perhaps Lewis has already ordered his) and asking, as he did for Charles, to apply a discreet 44 on the sides and a yellow and black stripe from the front to the rear of the bodywork.
That's not an F40 but the new F80
If you're going to do an article please get the facts right.
But I know it's an F80! Sorry, but the F44 doesn't exist, so how do you expect me to illustrate it?
In fact, only three people had the right to an ad nominem tribute with a car bearing their name.
In this order :
- Dino, the cherished son, the chosen heir, sadly gone far too soon.
- Enzo himself. Indisputable.
- Sergio (Pininfarina) who has done so much to give Ferraris their incomparable style and aura.
Note that this is a post-mortem tribute, as in most cases.
Let's wait and see in 2026.
But Ferrari is serious about its image, and would never associate a special order with a flop.
A few podiums for Lewis and he'll be able, like Charles, to order a special livery (or like Carlos and his matt grey 812 Competizione, discreetly personalized with the words "Sweat operator" on the door sills, in reference to the Iberian's favourite song, which he sings at the finish of each of his victories).
Lewis Hamilton wird 2026 wieder seine alte Form finden
Für mich ist er sowieso achtfacher Weltmeister weil 2021 wurde im der Titel regelwiedrig weggenommen
Er ist der Rekordweltmeister
If he wins a few races, Ferrari could take over the one-off project for the British driver without referring to any of the driver's fetish names or numbers.
Whether it's a world champion or joining the two legends, the number 44 can follow the initials SP to designate specific projects.
But to be honest, I have very little faith in this last hypothesis, because even if Ferrari had developed the best car with the new regulations, which is not a foregone conclusion, Lewis would still have a lot of work to do to beat Charles on a regular basis, the latter not wanting to give the lie to his legend of "il predistanato", the predestined one, by which I mean the one who must bring the title back to the great Scuderia!