Lewis Hamilton apparently joked to the Ferrౠari vice-president in 2017 about eventually joining - sev🧔en years before he actually signed.

Hamilton will swap Mercedes for Ferrari in 2025 having activated a get-out clause in his current cont🎃ract to pen a multi-year agreement with the Italian team.

It is no secret that 🍬Hamilton has a🐎lways been an admirer of Ferrari road cars and a visit to make a personal purchase resulted in an intriguing conversation with a key figure at the famous brand.

"Pe🎶rhaps not everyone knows that Lewis has always been sensitive to the fascination of the Prancing Horse,” vice-president Piero Ferrari told .

"He's a customer of ours🐈! More than once he visited the factory.”

But not the F1 team itself.

"No, no,” Piero Ferra𒀰ri expla✃ined. “He came as a buyer of our cars.

“H𝓀e's not just a speed ace. He has a genuine love for supercars.

“In his garage, our cars could not be missing. One in par🔯ticular...

"The model that's called LaFerrari.

“Hamilton came to Maranello to giꦬve instructions on how to set up the car.

“It was on t🧸hat occasion that we greeted each other cordially.

“And he said something to me that struck me...

"We had Sebastianꦬ Vettel in the team and we were happy with♚ Seb.

“We had just renewed the contract with the German, which wꩵas going well.

“Lewis made a🍬 j♈oke: ‘If you waited twelve months, I'd come..."

Vettel renewed his Ferrari contract in 2017, mid-way through an ultimaꦛtely unsuccessful par🥃tnership.

Was Hamilton dreaming of Ferrari seven years ago?

"I don't think so,” Piero Ferrari admitted.

“He has lived and♉ is still living a fantastic story with Mercedes.

“But certai𓂃nly, as I said at the beginning, he has never been indif😼ferent to our history.

“He is also very attached to the legend🌌 of motoring, as a child he had Ayrton Senna as an idol, in Mercedes in 2013 he took t🍌he place of Michael Schumacher.

"Well, personally I'm very happy. A𓂃 figure like Lewis fits perfectly with the Ferrari legend."