Why Lewis Hamilton isn’t driving for Ferrari in Abu Dhabi F1 test

F1’s post-season test takes place today in Abu Dhabi, but Lewis Hamilton will be a notable absentee.

Several drivers including Carlos Sainz (Williams), Esteban Ocon (Haas) and Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) will get the chance to make a head start on their preparations with their new teams in the end-of-season test.

Hamilton won’t get that opportunity with Ferrari. But why not?

The seven-time world champion, who capped off his final race with Mercedes with a superb fightback from 16th on the grid to finish fourth in Sunday’s F1 2024 finale, will complete a farewell tour with the Silver Arrows.

Complex contractual arrangements in Hamilton’s Mercedes deal - which does not expire until December 31 - plus the fact that Mercedes and Ferrari are big rivals, have prevented the 39-year-old from making an early cameo for the Prancing Horse. 

One of these obligations will see Hamilton make an appearance for Mercedes title sponsor Petronas on the same day as the Abu Dhabi test.

“We have contractual agreements with sponsors, we’re having a farewell for Lewis,” Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff recently confirmed.

“A lot of activities that are planned. Him and I, we spoke about it briefly, and he said ‘I guess that’s not going to work’, and I said ‘Yeah I don’t think it’s going to work’.

“I don’t think Fred [Vasseur, Ferrari team principal] is particularly sad.”

Instead, Hamilton will need to wait until early next year before he makes his debut for F1’s most famous team.

Hamilton’s first run for the Scuderia is expected to be in a 2022 car at Ferrari’s private Fiorano test track in early 2025.

Hamilton ‘in two minds’ about Ferrari run

Hamilton, who has made his lack of enjoyment of testing well known, has admitted to having some mixed emotions about not getting an early run for Ferrari.

“I know Fred wanted it to happen. For me, I was in two minds,” he explained.

“Driving the red car for the first time in Abu Dhabi does not excite me. In a perfect world, you get to drive it, not be seen, and do the first rollout next year.

“When I did raise it, obviously with Toto,  they had all these plans that I've got to go and see some of the sponsors and say their farewells.

“So I don't think it was ever going to actually be allowed, even if I had asked to have done it, because I'm contracted to the team until December 31st and that's totally fine.

"But it doesn't bother me, again, because I wasn't going to do the test.”

Hamilton did concede that not doing the test will make his Ferrari transition that bit “harder”.

“It's not what I wanted to do. I told Fred that's not what I wanted to do,” he added.

“Am I missing out on something? For sure. It definitely delays the process and makes the start of the year harder, but we'll do our best to recover.”

However, Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur downplayed the impact of Hamilton not taking part in the test.

“I'm not sure that he needs tons of hours of acclimatisation,” Vasseur told Motorsport.com.

“He is experienced enough to be quick on the first day, or at least very soon. We'll have one or two TPC days, plus the test in Bahrain, and that will be enough.”