Ex-F1 driver Martin Brundle is convinced Lewis Hamilton needs to spend time in Italy as soon as he switches to Ferrari.

To be a success at Ferrari and have the same impact that fellow seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher had, ex-F1 driver Martin Brundle believes Lewis Hamilton needs to "embed himself" in Italy amongst the historic side.

Hamilton will depart Mercedes at the end of the upcoming 2024 season, ending a relationship with the German manufacturer which started when he was just 13 years old. The 39-year-old announced his 2025 move to Ferrari at the beginning of February, with him having signed a multi-year deal to partner Charles Leclerc.

Having been at Mercedes since 2013, switching to Ferrari is a bold decision by the 103-time race winner, who has never raced for an F1 team based outside of the United Kingdom. As well as that, the main language used by Ferrari is obviously not English, meaning Hamilton might need to study some Italian.

To ensure a smooth transition to the Scuderia, Brundle is confident that Hamilton would like to take some Mercedes employees with him, something a non-compete clause is likely to block. Brundle explained what the Briton will be taking to Ferrari with him and what he'd perhaps like to take to Maranello.

"Processes, philosophies, how the car works, what he likes, where he likes to sit and what he needs from a car to maximise his talents," Brundle explained on the Sky F1 podcast.

"And then he's got to integrate. And it's hard, because I don't think he'll speak the language, he certainly won't speak the language and know the team like Charles Leclerc does. So you've got to go and find out where all the buttons are to press. And that's why I think Lewis will want to try to take a few people with him.

"But there'll be non-compete clauses where he can't really do that. But you really want to take some of your own gang with you when you go so that you can hit the ground running. But I think he'll have such respect there anyway, that if Lewis says, I want the back wheels put on the front, they'll go straight to work