“Sometimes I feel like I can hear him”: Lewis Hamilton reminisces working with Niki Lauda after Ferrari pay special Monza tribute

Lewis Hamilton took time to reminisce about working with Niki Lauda after the Scuderia Ferrari team paid tribute to the former world champion ahead of the 2025 Italian Grand Prix. The 40-year-old recounted memories about the Austrian motorsport chief during his interaction with the media.

Hamilton, who alongside the Scuderia Ferrari outfit is sporting a special livery to honour the 50th anniversary of Lauda’s first Formula 1 championship, detailed how he sometimes even feels he can hear the former Ferrari driver in his head.

"I’m glad we can honour Niki this weekend with a special livery and helmet, even though, to me, it always feels as if he’s still here by my side. Sometimes I even feel like I can hear him, because I know exactly what he would say to me in different situations,” he said.

While Lewis Hamilton’s stint has not coincided with Lauda post post-retirement activities with the Scuderia Ferrari outfit, the pair indeed crossed paths and worked several years together during his time at Mercedes. Lauda was reported to be instrumental in negotiating the British driver’s exit from McLaren after the 2013 season.

The pair would subsequently experience numerous successes together at the Brackley-based outfit until Lauda’s passing in May 2019.

Lewis Hamilton recounts Niki Lauda’s pep talk at Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton also took time to recount a few of Niki Lauda’s motivational talks during their stint together at Mercedes. The Ferrari driver detailed how the Austrian would always urge him to ‘give them hell’ when he did have a pleasant outing on the race track.

Hamilton also humorously highlighted how he initially struggled to understand what the former F1 champion often meant when he said those words to him.

"When I didn’t do well, he would say ‘give them hell,’ but he would always say the word a**holes. I remember that at the beginning, I never understood. I was like ‘What do you mean? You mean give them hell?’ and he was like “No, give them a**holes,” Lewis Hamilton concluded.

Lauda, who was appointed as the non-executive chairman of Mercedes in September 2012, was largely instrumental in a huge part of the success the team recorded during the turbo hybrid era. The three-time F1 champion witnessed the team achieve six constructors’ titles until his passing from which was reported to be related to issues with his kidneys.

Following Lauda’s passing, the Mercedes team has since incorporated the addition of a red star on their car livery. The red star is a tribute to the motosport chief. Particularly as a way of remembering his ever-present red cap, which he became synonymous with through the latter part of his life.

The three-pointed star first featured on the Mercedes car during the 2019 Monaco Grand Prix and has remained a main feature on the cars of the Brackley-based outfit ever since.