The Ferrari that barely lived: Hamilton shows how his iconic F40 was restored

The seven-time world champion had already turned heads last month when he arrived in the Monza paddock behind the wheel of the iconic Ferrari F40. Hamilton later explained that he had spent some time searching for the right example, prioritising low mileage, authenticity and a unique history rather than simply buying one of the cars that had appeared at auction.

Hamilton eventually found an F40 with an extraordinary background. Its previous owner had driven it just 69 kilometres from Maranello to his home before parking it and never starting it again, while the passenger door had reportedly never even been opened. Rather than preserving the car exactly as he found it, Hamilton decided to have it restored because he wanted to actually drive it.

During the process, Hamilton discovered another remarkable detail: the engine carried the number 44, matching the number he has raced with throughout his Formula 1 career. That coincidence added further significance to the car for the Briton, who chose to drive it to Monza as a way of celebrating Ferrari's history in its home country during the Italian Grand Prix weekend.

The task of reviving Hamilton's F40 was handed directly to Ferrari Classiche in Maranello. Rather than altering the character of the car, Ferrari's historic vehicle specialists approached the project with the aim of preserving what made the original example special while returning it to the condition in which it had originally left the factory.

That required the F40 to be extensively taken apart and carefully inspected. Among the most significant stages was the removal of its 2.9-litre twin-turbo V8, allowing Ferrari's technicians to work through the car before putting everything back together. The footage released by Hamilton offers a behind-the-scenes look at that process, from the dismantling of the F40 through to its final reassembly.

Weeks of work in Maranello ultimately produced a car that retained its original identity while appearing remarkably fresh. There was no attempt to modernise the F40 or turn it into something different as the focus remained firmly on authenticity.

In the description of the YouTube video, the Briton also shared a brief message reflecting on the project and thanking those who helped bring it to life: “The full story of my F40, from the factory to the track. This was such an exciting project, one that took a truly incredible team to pull off. Massive thank you to everyone involved, and special shout out to the engineers and mechanics at Ferrari. Honestly, I can’t get over this, hope you enjoy.”