Ferrari: does Lewis Hamilton have his notebook like Sebastian Vettel?. Lewis Hamilton tried to replicate in Maranello his usual work method after a track session.

Lewis Hamilton, as we have said and repeated, is a perfectionist. He dedicates time and care when something doesn’t meet his standards. During the 30 laps on the Fiorano circuit, on the day of his debut with Ferrari, he focused on the things he wanted to adjust before getting back behind the wheel of the SF-23 next week in Barcelona (from January 28 to 30), where, at least theoretically, he should find more favorable weather conditions compared to the fog and rain on Wednesday.

The seven-time world champion was pictured in the Ferrari garage with a notebook in hand, sketching for Riccardo Adami, the track engineer who will follow the Briton during the season, on how the pedal box should be adjusted to meet his ergonomic needs. The two pedals, in fact, are shaped like the sole of a shoe with lateral reinforcements that almost grip the foot to ensure constant contact.

The notebook, as we remember, was one of Sebastian Vettel’s habits at the start of his adventure in Maranello. The German would take notes, filling pages in his precious notebook while talking to the engineers or still seated in the cockpit of the SF15-T, capturing every detail and nuance in his approach to the 2015 Scuderia car. Evidently, it’s a characteristic of world champions working with British teams.

Once out of the SF-23, Lewis Hamilton participated in the debriefing with the engineers, who were eager to hear his first impressions of the 2023 Ferrari that he had driven under the TPC (Test previous cars) rules.

It seems that before starting the session analysis, the Englishman asked the engineers for a summary sheet of the test, with the written data presented in a way that would allow for a comparison based not only on driving feelings but also on the numbers.

This approach is evidently different from what Ferrari used last year with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, and Lewis will likely introduce a new custom. These are just small details, but they show how a driver may have developed a very methodical way of working with the technical staff over the course of his long career. Whether it will be just “cinema” or substance, only time will tell…