Inside crazy world of Ferrari Lewis Hamilton has joined from bonus payments and spygate scandal to gifting Brit a house

LEWIS HAMILTON has been thrust into the crazy world of Ferrari.

And from bonus payments to bust-ups, it’s not all “Dolce Vita” at the Italian team.

Not to mention the notorious “Spygate” scandal that nearly broke Ferrari and convulsed Formula One in 2007. 

F1‘s most iconic team have produced box office moments since their debut in the sport in 1950.

So SunSport has compiled a list of everything you need to know about the Italian powerhouse.

The Tifosi

Hamilton has already met the Tifosi – Ferrari’s loyal Italian fanbase with its name originating from the Ancient Greek “typhos” – for the bonfire smoke ancient Olympian fans would experience after a win. 

They have made their mark as F1’s most boisterous and vibrant fan base, becoming the beating heart of Ferrari’s rich history. 

Seven-time world champion Hamilton has been doing his best to brush up on his Italian, speaking the language on his first day on the job in Maranello. 

He was filmed saying “Tutto Bene?” to the Tifosi, which in English means “all good?”

Bonus payment

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The Concorde Agreement is effectively the document that binds F1 together, setting out both the framework of the rules and the commercial terms, including the amount of prize money the teams receive.

Ferrari‘s importance to F1 – as the sport’s most famous manufacturer and the only team to have participated in every season of the World Championship since it inauguration in 1950 – has seen the Scuderia controversially rewarded with extra bonus payments over the years.

Ferrari’s special treatment is set to continue – albeit at a reduced level – under the new Concorde Agreement for 2026.

For example, in 2016, Ferrari trousered a whopping £139MILLION from Formula One’s prize pot – despite finishing in THIRD place.

The Italian team will earn more than champions Mercedes or second-placed Red Bull due to a lucrative agreement with the sport’s former chief Bernie Ecclestone.

Spygate scandal

In 2007, the F1 world was shaken in the wake of the now-infamous “Spygate” saga.

It resulted in McLaren receiving an unprecedented and eye-watering $100m fine and being thrown out of the 2007 constructors’ championship. 

The scandal followed Ferrari chief mechanic Nigel Stepney stealing nearly 800 pages of confidential technical information from the company and giving them to his friend Mike Coughlan, who was the Chief Designer at McLaren.

Stepney was exposed after asking his wife to copy the secret documents at a local photocopy shop, in Woking, and a worker informed Ferrari.

It cost both men their jobs and led to Ferrari taking legal action against Coughlan, who reached an agreement with the racing giant. 

Following the uproar, an investigation from McLaren found none of the documents “had been passed to any other members of the team or incorporated into our cars”.

However, when new evidence was produced, McClaren was disqualified from the championship and served the record-breaking fine. 

That year, the battle between Fernando Alonso and Hamilton led to Kimi Raikkonen sweeping in and claiming the 2007 title.

Team order chaos

Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa were involved in a major controversy when they were teammates in Ferrari in 2010.

There was a major bust-up over team orders at the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim in 2010.

Ever since 2002, the FIA banned any kind of team orders from teams to their drivers during an F1 race weekend.

This meant no team could order drivers to switch positions or perform any other trick.

In 2010, Sebastian Vettel was well on his way to winning his first world championship when he qualified on pole for the German Grand Prix but did not get a good start.

This allowed both Ferrari drivers to overtake Vettel, with Massa leading the race while Alonso was second.

By lap 47 Alonso was close to Massa and clocking faster lap times, prompting a radio call from the Brazilian’s race engineer.

It said: “Fernando is faster than you. Confirm you understood the message?”

After the message, Massa suddenly slowed down, allowing Alonso to easily pass him.

Although there were no direct orders from the Ferrari pit wall it was clear the team had given Massa a nudge.

After the race, team principal Stefano Domenicali, manager Massimo Rivola and both Ferrari drivers were summoned by the stewards for a reported breach of sporting regulations.

Home is where the heart is

Lewis Hamilton has been gifted a new home in Italy to ease him into his move to Ferrari.

After landing in Italy last Sunday, Hamilton was treated to a tour of the factory by the team’s bigwigs including team principal Frederic Vasseur, and chief executive officer Benedetto Vigna.

The tour also visited the Fiorano house occupied by the team’s founder Enzo Ferrari, and the pit garage at the track. 

The team have pulled out all the stops to make the Brit feel at home, with them handing over the keys to a local property to help him soak up the Ferrari-mad country. 

Sharing his first thoughts about the £50million move on Instagram, Sir Lewis wrote: “There are some days that you know you’ll remember forever.

“And today, my first as a Ferrari driver is one of those.

‘I’ve been lucky enough to have achieved things in my career I never thought possible.

“But part of me has always held on to that dream of racing in red. I couldn’t be happier to realise that dream.

“We start a new era in the history of this iconic team, and I can’t wait to see what story we will write together.”