Lewis Hamilton has driven his Ferrari F40 through the streets of Maranello after the car spent more than 30 years unused and later returned to running condition thanks to Ferrari specialists. The first videos shared online show the British driver behind the wheel of the red example just days after announcing the purchase, documenting the transition from decades in storage to its first road outing after the recovery.
Lewis Hamilton finally takes his dream Ferrari F40 onto the streets of Maranello
The video published on Hamilton’s official channel also retraces several stages of the project. The car first appears covered in dust before moving to Maranello, where Ferrari engineers and mechanics began working on it. Footage from the Ferrari Classiche department shows part of the work carried out on the F40, although Hamilton has not said that the car received official Classiche certification.
Hamilton has said he wanted this model since childhood and even chose an F40 as part of the setting for his first official day with Ferrari in January 2025. “This is my dream car,” he wrote when revealing the purchase on social media. The short drive on roads near the factory now completes a recovery process that lasted several weeks and finally lets him enjoy the car he had already turned into a symbol of his arrival in Maranello.
Ferrari introduced the F40 in 1987 to celebrate the company’s 40th anniversary, and it became the final road car unveiled while Enzo Ferrari was still alive. Nicola Materazzi led the technical development, focusing on low weight and performance levels that few road cars could match at the time. Production continued until 1992 and far exceeded Ferrari’s initial expectations, reaching 1,311 examples.
The 2.9-liter twin-turbo V8 produces 478 hp at 7,000 rpm and works with a five-speed manual transmission. With a claimed weight of around 2,425 pounds (1,100 kg), the F40 accelerates from 0-62 mph in 4.1 seconds and reaches 124 mph (200 km/h) in about 12 seconds. Its official top speed of 201 mph (324 km/h) also made it the first road-going Ferrari to break the 200-mph barrier.
Hamilton has not revealed how much he paid for the car or exactly what work Ferrari carried out to make it roadworthy again. Three decades of inactivity can affect hydraulic systems and mechanical components even when the body appears well preserved, so bringing a car like this back into regular use requires extensive inspection and servicing.
The Maranello footage confirms that process has now reached its conclusion and that Hamilton’s F40 is finally back on the road.
