Lewis Hamilton wrapped up his first test for Ferrari ahead of the 2025 season at the Scuderia’s Fiorano test track in Maranello, Italy this Wednesday morning. The seven-time Formula 1 World Champion completed a total of 30 laps in the 2023 Ferrari SF-23 in front of a massive crowd of local Tifosi.
It was just under a year ago that Lewis Hamilton shook the sporting world after he announced that he would be leaving Mercedes at the end of the 2024 season to join Formula 1’s most historic team alongside Charles Leclerc. Hamilton, who joined Mercedes in 2013, finished up his twelfth and final season at the Silver Arrows in what was one of the most successful partnerships in sporting history. However, after recent years of struggling for results with Mercedes, Hamilton decided to pursue an eighth world championship in the red Ferrari.
After a short summer break, Hamilton took to Instagram to reveal a photo of his first official day with his new team. Posing up next to a Ferrari F40 in a tuxedo and black coat Hamilton captioned “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 realize that dream today.”
As thick early morning fog rolled in, over a thousand local fans huddled along the Fiorano test track to watch the Brit's first outing in Red. At approximately 9:15 am Hamilton rolled out of the garage for his first lap and slowed down to wave to the Tifosi, some of which had been camping out at the track since Monday.
Ferrari Team Principal Fred Vasseur and Vice President Piero Ferrari watched on as Hamilton worked alongside new race engineer Riccardo Adami and got to grips with the new car. While not at full pace and with older machinery this test will have served as a great chance for Hamilton to get acquainted with the team and the characteristics of a Ferrari Formula 1 car. After completing a short stint in the SF-23, Hamilton handed over the reins to teammate Charles Leclerc for the rest of the morning.
As per Formula 1’s new testing regulations full time drivers are restricted to 1000 Kilometers of testing and must use a car that is at least two seasons old. However Ferrari plans to use up as much of this mileage as possible with an additional test for Hamilton in Barcelona later this month. Ferrari will then launch their 2025 challenger on February 19th the day after the F1 75 livery launch in London.
With just over a month until F1 testing begins, it is shaping up to be an exciting season of Grand Prix racing.
Add comment
Comments