Piero Ferrari: Hamilton's age is not a problem

      In an interview with Autosprint, Piero Ferrari, son of the legendary Ferrari founder, said he was impressed by the reception that Lewis Hamilton received from the tifosi during his first days with the team. Piero Ferrari: "I was impressed. I could hardly believe it. It was a genuine display of passion. The many people on the little bridge overlooking the Fiorano circuit was a beautiful demonstration of love. I went to greet Lewis when he arrived in Fiorano. When he saw the fans waiting for him from the car windows, he was happy and surprised. I can't remember any other driver so elegant on his first day at Ferrari. Impeccable suit, tie, fancy hair. We managers, for example, were without ties. Then we were photographed together in front of Enzo's house with the F40 - it's his favorite car. The first time Lewis came to visit us was in 2014, when he bought a LaFerrari. He spent a lot of time at the factory, exploring the possibility of personalizing the car. Toward evening he came up to say hello and I offered him dinner with me. He was enthusiastic, we talked about the car but not only, and I found a really nice person, unusual. We were at the Cavallino restaurant. Then he came a few more times, mostly talking to the people in charge of sales.What did we talk about? A little bit of everything. Lewis, like me, has great memories of Lauda. We miss him, Nicky was invaluable to both Lewis and Ferrari. But we discussed a lot of other topics apart from racing. I like the fact that Lewis is not just obsessed with Formula 1, he knows what's going on in the world. He said several times that he would have liked to race for us, but he had commitments to Mercedes and we had commitments to our drivers. But the moment came when Lewis and we were able to start negotiations and signed the contract. Lewis is almost 40 years old but he is in good shape both physically and mentally, I don't think age is a problem. He accepted the challenge with great enthusiasm. Lewis will bring us the experience of seven championship titles, he is a top level professional who knows how to win. Of course, Charles Leclair dreams of beating him. It's always been like that. The struggle of generations - now we see it in tennis with Cinner and other young athletes - youth against experience. But I am confident that the rivalry between Hamilton and Leclair can benefit both."