Explained: Lewis Hamilton's next drive for Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton is gearing up for his first F1 season driving for Ferrari.
Lewis Hamilton has completed a two-day run in Ferrari’s 2024 F1 car as he continued his preparations for his debut season with the team.
The seven-time world champion drove Ferrari’s SF-24 challenger for the first time this week at Barcelona in a Pirelli tyre test to help with F1's tyre supplier's 2026 development work.
Hamilton racked up 161 laps of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya over the two days as he shared driving duties with new teammate Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari, which featured modifications to simulate expected downforce levels in 2026.
That distance is the equivalent of more than two Spanish Grand Prix race distances.
It marked Hamilton’s third test outing for Ferrari. The 40-year-old Briton made his on-track debut for the Scuderia in a 2023 Ferrari at their Fiorano test track last month as the team conducted some TPC (Testing of Previous Cars).
Lewis Hamilton drove Ferrari at two tests
Hamilton had another two days in the SF-23 last week at Barcelona but suffered a crash on Wednesday.
Hamilton’s next appearance for Ferrari is set to take place on 19 February - in their new 2025 challenger.
Ferrari are unveiling their SF-25 a day after the F175 season launch at London’s O2 Arena on 18 February and are expected to complete an initial shakedown run, with both Hamilton and Leclerc getting a chance to sample the car.
Hamilton and Leclerc will then head to Bahrain for official F1 pre-season testing between 26-28 February.
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has already provided some early details about their 2025 challenger.
“If it will be competitive, we’ll find out in Bahrain [pre-season testing],” Vasseur said.
“Sometimes you don’t realise you’re taking risks until afterward. The car will be completely new; I think we’ll have less than one per cent of the parts in common with the 2024 car. It’s a different project, but the same applies to everyone.
“We can’t say now if 2025 will be our year, but I trust the project we’re working on. It will still be an intense challenge like the one we just completed.
“I am very proud of how we tackled difficulties this year [2024], but we must take another step towards consistency.”
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