Lewis Hamilton certainly has no issue with gas-powered supercars now that he’s with Ferrari.

      Lewis Hamilton via YouTube

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      I was never particularly fond of dogs, but after unexpectedly caring for a 32-pound American Eskimo for a few months, little Rocky has become arguably my best friend, despite his tendency to bark at anyone who isn’t Asian. What I’m saying is that people can change, as is evident in the personal automotive choices of seven-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton.

      Two things stand true: In 2020, Hamilton announced he was abandoning his collection of supercars to embrace electric vehicles due to climate change. By 2025, he expressed his dream of designing a modern Ferrari F40 with a manual transmission.

      The primary distinction between 2020 and 2025—besides the initial excitement around electrification subsiding—is the color of Hamilton’s race suit. Back in 2020, he was with Mercedes and was a key figure in their strong push toward electric vehicles. Now with Ferrari, he can embrace a more laid-back persona and suggest that the world could use another classic manual performance car.

      Whether we want to acknowledge it or not, our actions and statements at work are influenced, at least in part, by those who pay us. For someone as prominent as Lewis Hamilton, representing a leading global automaker, he is essentially "on duty" whenever in the public eye. We don’t fault Hamilton for this marked change, nor should anyone consider this a case of hypocrisy, especially since what he seems to be advocating for is a manual Ferrari supercar—who wouldn’t want that? However, we must note: Quite the timing, right?

      In 2020, Hamilton was a strong advocate for electric vehicles, posting on Instagram about his then-employer’s new Vision EQS concept and discussing ways to reduce his carbon footprint through limited travel, veganism, and using electric cars. He even stopped using his gas-powered performance cars, opting solely for an electric Mercedes EQC.

      Fast forward five years and a change of teams later, while we can't comment on his dietary choices, Lewis' Instagram now reflects some changes. Ferrari has yet to produce a fully electric vehicle. He is now seen in front of F40s and, in late March, revealed to the press his desire to design a new Ferrari supercar—with a manual transmission, taking inspiration from the legendary F40—dubbed the F44. For those unfamiliar with F1, Lewis races under No. 44.

      This vision came closer to reality this week when Ferrari Chief Product Development Officer Gianmaria Fulgenzi mentioned to Australia’s carsales that the company is open to reintroducing the gated manual, albeit for a limited-run Icona model (similar to Monza SP1, SP2, or Daytona SP3). Could a wedge-shaped, gated six-speed F44 be the next special edition from Ferrari? Stranger things have happened.

      Currently, a manual in Maranello’s regular production models (like the Roma, 296, or the 12Cilindri) isn’t on the agenda, but Ferrari once claimed it would never make an SUV—just look at their current model lineup (even though they refuse to call it an SUV).

      Life is long. Views evolve. Situations change. People adapt. If Lewis can drive gas cars again, and I can learn to deal with picking up actual dog poop before breakfast, Ferrari might just consider including a clutch pedal in its next entry-level supercar. Once more, stranger things have occurred.

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