Lewis Hamilton completed his first test as a Ferrari driver at Fiorano as the seven-time world champion’s preparations for the 2025 F1 season intensify.
Almost a year after announcing his shock move from Mercedes to Ferrari, Hamilton linked up with his new employers for the first time this week ahead of the new season.
After a visit to the team’s factory in Maranello on Monday, the 40-year-old took to the track for the first time at the team’s test track in Fiorano on Wednesday morning.
Early on a foggy morning, Hamilton was seen leaving the nearby house used as an office by legendary team founder Enzo Ferrari before walking the short distance to the Ferrari garage in Fiorano.
Hamilton wore his new helmet for the 2025 F1 season, whose bright yellow colors are a nod to the design he used early in his illustrious career.
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Around 9:20 a.m. local time, Hamilton first appeared behind the wheel of the SF-23, the car driven in competition by teammate Charles Leclerc and his predecessor Carlos Sainz in 2023, for a brief installation lap.
Hamilton was seen waving from his new cockpit to the hundreds of fans present at the circuit to witness his first Ferrari test in the flesh.
With light rain falling at Fiorano, Hamilton completed a series of races of around 10 laps each as well as a number of practice starts.
Hamilton reportedly racked up around 30 laps in total during his introductory test.
Once his race was over, the seven-time World Champion made his way to the spectator areas to greet the Tifosi, having received a warm welcome from die-hard Ferrari fans since his arrival on Monday.
Leclerc, who joined Ferrari at the start of 2019, is expected to take over from Hamilton on Wednesday afternoon for his first track outing of 2025.
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The Fiorano test represents the first step in a busy winter schedule for Hamilton ahead of his first season as a Ferrari driver.
Hamilton and Leclerc are expected to continue their preparations for F1 2025 with a second private test next week at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
The drivers will then showcase Ferrari’s new livery at F1’s first-ever collective season launch event in London before the official launch of the team’s 2025 car – codenamed Project 677 – the following day.
Leclerc and Hamilton are expected to conduct a brief test of Project 677 – the development of which was overseen by Hamilton’s former Mercedes colleague Loic Serra – before an official F1 pre-season test takes place in Bahrain from February 26 to 28.
The drivers are then expected to return to Italy to take part in a special event hosted by Ferrari and new major sponsor Unicredit in early March before flying to Melbourne for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on March 16.
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