Trackside verdict on Lewis Hamilton testing his Ferrari in Bahrain

The first trackside judgement of Lewis Hamilton driving a Ferrari has come in from F1 pre-season testing in Bahrain.

Hamilton was behind the wheel for Ferrari’s morning programme on Wednesday, the first of three days of testing.

There are already positive noises from experts with the closest view of his SF-25.

Lewis Hamilton assessed in F1 Bahrain pre-season testing

“He looks energised,” Alex Brundle told Sky Sports from trackside.

“He has looked energised all the way through the off-season.

“[Hamilton has] been off already at Turn 11.

“He’s got a bit of a tailwind on his way in here. He is routinely slightly wide of the apex at Turn 11.

“He looks nice and stable through the exit.

“Just a little bit of understeer, it looks like, in that Ferrari, at the moment, for Hamilton.

“That’s what caught him out a few laps ago. He scampered over the outside kerb and carried on.

“He’s just getting a bit of a bit of a feel for the car, potentially a bit of wind behind it. A little bit wide for Hamilton could be a factor of the car moving forward.”

Hamilton, since exiting Mercedes, has tested the 2023 and 2024 versions of his new team’s car in Barcelona and at Ferrari’s home track.

He briefly got behind the wheel of the SF-25 but only in Bahrain has he been able to ramp up testing for the new season.

Brundle added: “A couple of 100ks round Fiorano is not going to give you a feel for it.

“It’s narrow, it’s bumpy and you just don’t get enough mileage.

“It’s going to be really interesting to see how the Ferrari progress.

“An entirely new front suspension setup for Hamilton, and everything that goes with that, will take all of his experience to get his head around this year.”

Teammate Charles Leclerc will take over the running from Hamilton on Wednesday afternoon.