The seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton has finished his first test as a Ferrari driver at Fiorano as he gets ready for the F1 2025 season.
Ahead of the upcoming season, Hamilton has made his first appearance with his new employers this week, nearly a year after it was revealed that he had abruptly switched from Mercedes to Ferrari.
Click to watch Video footage of lewis Hamilton first F1 test session.
Hamilton completes first Ferrari test at Fiorano
The 40-year-old made his track debut on Wednesday morning at the team’s test Fiorano test track, following a tour of the Maranello factory on Monday. Hamilton was spotted walking the short distance to Ferrari’s garage facility at Fiorano early on a foggy morning after leaving the nearby home that the renowned team founder Enzo Ferrari used as an office.
The bright yellow colors of Hamilton’s new crash helmet, which he was wearing for the F1 2025 season, were a nod to the style he wore in the early years of his remarkable career.
Analysis: Lewis Hamilton leaves Mercedes to join Ferrari for Formula One in 2025
For a quick installation lap at approximately 9:20 a.m. local time, Hamilton made his debut behind the wheel of the SF-23, the vehicle that teammate Charles Leclerc and 2023 predecessor Carlos Sainz drove in competition.
From his new cockpit, Hamilton waved to the hundreds of spectators who had come to see his first Ferrari test in person. Hamilton finished a number of practice starts and a run of about ten laps each at Fiorano in the light rain.
During his introductory test, Hamilton is estimated to have completed about 30 laps overall. After finishing his run, the seven-time World Champion, who had been welcomed by Ferrari’s ardent supporters since his arrival on Monday, headed to the spectator areas to welcome the Tifosi.
It is anticipated that Leclerc, who joined Ferrari at the beginning of 2019, will replace Hamilton on Wednesday afternoon for his first race of 2025.
Ahead of his debut season as a Ferrari driver, Hamilton has a busy winter schedule that begins with the Fiorano test. Next week, Hamilton and Leclerc are anticipated to conduct a second private test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya as part of their ongoing preparations for Formula One 2025.
Prior to the official launch of the team’s 2025 car, code-named Project 677, the drivers will showcase Ferrari’s new livery at Formula One’s first-ever collective season-launch event in London the following day.
Project 677, whose development has been supervised by Hamilton’s former Mercedes coworker Loic Serra, is anticipated to undergo a quick shakedown with Leclerc and Hamilton prior to an official F1 pre-season test that takes place in Bahrain from February 26 to 28.
The drivers will then depart for Melbourne for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on March 16 after returning to Italy to participate in a special event hosted by Ferrari and new major sponsor Unicredit in early March.
Lewis Hamilton’s first Ferrari laps at Fiorano compared to Michael Schumacher and Charles Leclerc’s fastest times
Lewis Hamilton was slower than Charles Leclerc and Michael Schumacher. Information about Hamilton’s initial test was revealed in an AutoRacer report. According to reports, the seven-time world champion used almost 10% of his maximum annual allowance (1,000km) to complete 90km.
Hamilton was unable to push hard and develop “confidence” in the car because of the cold track temperatures and sporadic rain showers. He committed a few “small errors” during a program interruption.
Around one minute per lap was the pace set by the former Mercedes driver. The Fiorano circuit is the shortest on the Formula One calendar, measuring just 1.9 miles.
For context, Michael Schumacher holds the lap record, having set a 55.999 in the title-winning F2004. In the same car, Leclerc logged a best time of around 57.6s a couple of years ago.
Hamilton was substantially slower, but these weren’t necessarily performance runs. His main goal was to familiarise himself with Ferrari’s ‘working methods’ as he links up with a new engineer in Riccardo Adami.
The lap record is held by Michael Schumacher, who set a time of 55.999 in the F2004 championship race. A few years ago, Leclerc set a best time of about 57.6 seconds in the same vehicle.
These weren’t necessarily performance runs, but Hamilton was much slower. His primary objective was to become acquainted with Ferrari’s “working methods” as he teams up with Riccardo Adami, a new engineer.
When Ferrari fans first saw Lewis Hamilton, they heard them yelling just two words.
Sky Sports F1’s Craig Slater claims that over a thousand people watched Hamilton’s debut. The turnout is impressive considering that the event was intended to be private.
When they saw Hamilton, Ferrari supporters yelled “my god,” according to reporters on the scene. He was wearing a brand-new yellow helmet, but it’s not clear if that will be his lid for the whole season.
Fans won’t be able to witness continuous running at the track or on a global broadcast until Bahrain. On March 16, Australia THN will host his first race.