Lewis Hamilton 'outdoing Michael Schumacher' with telling gesture to Ferrari fans

Jacques Villeneuve believes that 's efforts to learn Italian have put him one step beyond when it comes to making an effort with the Ferrari fans. The legendary Brit soaked up the atmosphere in Imola on Sunday, speaking the native language with the Tifosi wherever possible. While on-track results are taking their time to materialise, Hamilton dived head-first into his new move to Maranello back in January.

The 40-year-old has already endeared himself to the Tifosi and is making an effort to learn Italian to converse with the fans. This follows advice from F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, who told Autoracer: "He is learning to speak Italian and understand how to integrate into our culture. I told him it is also essential for him to be able to do this. In Ferrari, he will find a different environment than before."

In front of the Tifosi at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Hamilton once again used Italian when possible. On the pre-race driver parade, he spoke to the crowd briefly in their native tongue, and he had more words for the passionate Ferrari fans in his post-race radio message.

Hamilton's linguistic exploits captured the attention of 1997 world champion Villeneuve, who compared the efforts to those of fellow seven-time champion, Schumacher. "Well, mostly for an English-speaking person because you guys never learn foreign languages," he joked to Sky Sports F1.

"It's tough, everyone speaking English! But seriously, I don't remember Schumacher doing that, making that effort, going out there. Seb [Vettel] did, but after how many races? His seventh race, and he's already saying things in Italian. His accent wasn't too bad!"

The Stevenage-born racer's on-track fortunes turned in Imola, too. Hamilton started the first of two Ferrari home races in 2025 from the sixth row of the grid after both he and team-mate Charles Leclerc were eliminated in Q2 on Saturday, but the SF-25 unleashed some impressive race pace on Sunday.

Hamilton outpaced his Mercedes replacement, Kimi Antonelli, on a long, hard-tyre run at the start of the race, before charging past Leclerc and Williams' Alex Albon after a late safety car to finish fourth. With a couple more laps, the Brit would have been challenging Oscar Piastri for the final spot on the podium.

On the radio after the chequered flag, Hamilton was buoyant. "Thanks so much, mate," he told race engineer Riccardo Adami. "What a great race, guys! Fantastic stops, strategy, the car felt great today. I'm so grateful, so proud. Grazie a tutti! And for the Tifosi... that was for them."