Hamilton unveils full restoration of dust-covered Ferrari F40 that sat undriven for 30 years

Lewis Hamilton has shared the complete story behind the restoration of his Ferrari F40, releasing a video that follows the car from its dust-covered discovery through a full revival by engineers at Ferrari’s Maranello factory.

The F40 in question was collected in 1991, driven a mere 69km, and then parked in a private garage where it remained unstarted for more than 30 years. Hamilton, who had teased the reveal ahead of the Italian Grand Prix earlier this season, pulled back a red cover at the start of the video to see the finished car for the first time.

“She looks so good!” he exclaimed, circling the car with a wide smile. “Wow! She looks brand new.”

The video documents the restoration process through a montage of photographs taken at Maranello, before Hamilton settles into the cabin and fires up the 2.9-litre twin-turbo V8. The engine’s roar fills the warehouse as he takes in the moment before the car is wheeled out for its first drive in decades.

A photo shoot followed at Monza’s disused banked corner — a location that has since produced one of the more striking images associated with Hamilton’s first season at Ferrari.

Hamilton had previously written about the significance of the car when he first revealed it. “As a kid I dreamt of having one,” he said. “When I joined Ferrari last year I made sure to have one with me on my first day at Maranello. That’s how much it means to me.”

“These cars are works of art and incredibly rare, so when I found this one, covered in dust after being sat in a garage for over thirty years, I knew I had to bring her home. First to Maranello, where the master engineers and mechanics at the factory worked for weeks to bring her back to life.”

The restoration project sits alongside what has been a landmark year for Hamilton personally, marking his high-profile move from Mercedes to Ferrari after more than a decade with the team with which he won six of his seven world championships.