Hamilton finds Ferrari F40 left in a garage for 30 years
Created by Daniela Ezequiel at Monday, 7 September 2026
Lewis Hamilton has fulfilled one of those dreams that had stayed with him since childhood. The British driver found a Ferrari F40 that had been sitting in a garage for more than 30 years and decided to restore what he had always considered to be his dream car.
The seven-time Formula 1 world champion had already made his admiration for the Ferrari F40 clear. In 2025, on his first official day as a Ferrari driver, he made a point of posing next to one in Maranello. At the time, the car did not belong to him. Just over a year later, the story gained a much more special chapter.
Hamilton found an F40 covered in dust and virtually untouched for more than three decades. Faced with such a rare car and such an unusual history, the decision ended up being inevitable: he had to keep it.
A Ferrari F40 practically untouched since new
The story of this particular example is surprising in itself. According to Lewis Hamilton, the first owner bought the Ferrari F40 new and drove it only from the brand’s factory in Maranello to his home.
The journey is said to have been around 69 kilometres. After that, the car was stored in a garage and remained virtually untouched for more than 30 years. Hamilton even revealed that the passenger door had never been opened.
Faced with an F40 preserved in this way, there were two possibilities: keep it as a true time capsule or return it to the road. Hamilton chose the second option.
The car was sent to Maranello, where Ferrari engineers and mechanics began a restoration process that lasted several weeks. The F40 was dismantled to allow a thorough inspection and, despite the decades of inactivity, its state of preservation surprised the team.
Only a few new parts were needed to make the supercar roadworthy again.
And it was precisely during this process that an almost unbelievable detail emerged.
When the engine was removed, the technicians discovered the number 44 stamped on the block. It is exactly the same number Lewis Hamilton has used throughout his Formula 1 career. A coincidence that made this Ferrari F40 even more special for the British driver.
From abandonment to an arrival at Monza
After the restoration, Hamilton chose a fitting setting to show his F40 in public. The driver arrived at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza behind the wheel of the Ferrari.
The choice also had a special meaning. Hamilton wanted to bring back some of the image of earlier Formula 1 eras, when it was common to see drivers arriving at circuits in their own sports cars.
It was also a way of paying tribute to Ferrari’s history at the race held on the Italian brand’s home soil.
Hamilton’s connection with the F40, however, went back much further. The driver recalls dreaming about this model since childhood and, in 2025, after saying that he had sold his car collection, he made one exception very clear: if he were to buy another car, it would be a Ferrari F40.
Ferrari F40 remains one of Maranello’s great icons
Presented in July 1987 to celebrate Ferrari’s 40th anniversary, the F40 holds a very special place in the brand’s history. It was the last road car developed under the direct supervision of Enzo Ferrari, who died in 1988.
The example acquired by Lewis Hamilton was produced in 1989 and belongs to a series of just 1,311 units.
Under the bodywork is a 2.9-litre twin-turbo V8 engine, mounted in a rear-mid position, capable of developing 478 hp. Power is sent to the wheels through a five-speed manual gearbox.
The result remains impressive, even almost four decades later. The Ferrari F40 accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.1 seconds and reaches a claimed top speed of 324 km/h. All of this in a car without traction control and without many of the electronic aids now considered normal in a supercar.
Weighing only around 1,110 kg, making significant use of composite materials and featuring a design by Pininfarina, the F40 was created with a very clear philosophy: reduce weight, prioritise performance and offer as pure a driving experience as possible.
In Lewis Hamilton’s case, however, the numbers tell only part of the story. Finding a Ferrari F40 that had been virtually forgotten for three decades would already be special. Discovering during the restoration that the engine carries the number 44 turned this example into a car with even greater personal significance.
Sources: 24 Horas, A Bola, Notícias ao Minuto
