Jeremy Clarkson couldn’t resist getting in on the Lewis Hamilton hype this week, as he shared a tongue-in-cheek picture of himself on social media.

Hamilton’s move to Ferrari resulted in a deluge of media coverage and social media sharing this week, with the seven-time F1 World Champion arriving at Maranello and driving a Ferrari F1 car for the first time.

Jeremy Clarkson shares hilarious ‘Godfather’ photo

Having signed a contract with Ferrari a year ago, Hamilton’s first day at Maranello saw him pose for photographs outside the home of Enzo Ferrari.

Standing in front of a Ferrari F40, eagle-eyed viewers quickly spotted the symbolism of the photo, which was taken by Andre Wagner. With seven open windows, this appeared to be a reference to Hamilton’s seven world championships, with the door to the building signaling the potential of a record-breaking eighth world title.

Hamilton’s choice of clothing was also inspired, as he dressed in a stylish black suit with a jacket draped over his shoulders.

“There are some days that you know you’ll remember forever and today, my first as a Ferrari driver, is one of those days,” Hamilton wrote underneath.

“I’ve been lucky enough to have achieved things in my career I never thought possible, but part of me has always held on to that dream of racing in red. I couldn’t be happier to realise that dream today.

“Today we start a new era in the history of this iconic team, and I can’t wait to see what story we will write together.”

The ‘Godfather ‘-esque photo quickly went viral and has racked up 5.5 million likes in less than a week since it was posted.

With the image quickly spreading, celebrity TV host and journalist Jeremy Clarkson couldn’t resist getting in on the action. Known for his sense of humour from years of presenting the BBC’s Top Gear and Amazon’s The Grand Tour and Clarkson’s Farm, the British presenter presented his version of the photo.

Posing with a Range Rover parked in front of a barn of hay with a cow merrily eating away, Clarkson stood in front of the bonnet attempting to replicate Hamilton’s pose.

Unlike Hamilton’s impeccable style, Clarkson’s suit and jacket weren’t the same colour, further adding to the ‘everyman’ image Clarkson was using for fun.

Clarkson shared the image with the caption, “Lewis Clarkilton”.

Amusingly, the image has gone almost as viral as Hamilton’s – it has been liked 1.3 million times in the 24 hours since it was posted.

His poking fun at Hamilton comes just days after the Racing Bulls team attempted to cash in on Hamilton’s post by sharing a picture of new signing Isack Hadjar arriving at the team’s factory in Faenza, with the rookie driver wearing a jacket over his shoulders.

While Clarkson has wished the seven-time F1 World Champion well as Hamilton embarks on his new adventure at Ferrari, the long-time F1 fan shared his views that Hamilton is now past his best.

Speaking after the Brazilian GP in November, Clarkson was blunt in his assessment.

“Lewis Hamilton is past his prime,” he said.

“He blamed his car for his tail-end qualifying session but his teammate, George Russell, was on the front row.

“Of course, it’s possible that because Lewis is moving to Ferrari next year, the team are filling his fuel tank with lemon barley water instead of petrol.

“But that seems unlikely.

“It’s far more probable that he’s now too old.”

Hamilton faces a stern challenge as he settles into life at Maranello. Not only must he adjust to life with a new team and a new culture, he also has a new teammate in the form of the fearsomely fast Charles Leclerc, with the Monegasque widely regarded as one of Formula 1’s World Champions in waiting.