Although Lewis Hamilton was not able to take part in the post-season Pirelli tyre testing with Ferrari, the seven-time F1 champion is expected to make his on-track debut with the Scuderia in a two-year-old Ferrari.
Lewis Hamilton announced his shock departure from Mercedes on the 1st of February. The announcement caught the Formula One community by surprise, as the seven-time world champion was set to race for the Brackley-based outfit until the end of 2025.
However, an exit clause in his contract allowed Hamilton to leave the team in 2025 if he wished, and the Briton elected to terminate his contract at the end of the current season and seek for a new challenge at Ferrari next year.
Hamilton is statistically the most successful driver in the history of Formula One, tied with the great German seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher on the number of world championship titles.
Although Hamilton was not granted an early release from Mercedes, he is expected to rack up his first laps with Ferrari before the official pre-season testing gets underway in Bahrain.
Respected Italian publication Auto Racer has recently suggested that the seven-time F1 champion will complete his first laps with Ferrari on either Tuesday, January 21 or Wednesday, January 22.
The exact date depends on the weather, but the location is expected to be Fiorano that is located just a few minutes from Ferrari’s Maranello headquarters. As for the cars, under the Testing of Previous Cars regulations, the Scuderia might use the SF-75 from 2022 and the SF-23 from 2023 for the one-day test outing that could help Hamilton get used to Ferrari’s power unit, steering wheel and on-track procedures.
However, it has emerged that Formula One’s sole tyres manufacturer Pirelli is also planning a tyre test at Magny Cours at the end of January, which would also offer a chance for Hamilton to complete his first laps with a Ferrari F1 car.
Speaking of Hamilton’s potential first on-track day with the Scuderia, Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur said: “We will have the occasion to do a TPC or Pirelli test day,” Vasseur said. “But it’s closely linked to the weather, and we didn’t take a decision [on a date or venue].
“It’s always a challenge, starting from the beginning of January until the launch of the season. It means that for sure it’s critical that you have only six weeks [before pre-season testing], it’s not easy. But I think he’s also coming with his own experience. He’s not the rookie of the year. It means that I’m not worried at all about this.
“It’s also the continuity of the previous [technical] regulations [from 2024] and so that means for us, we have some reference. I’m not worried, but it’s true that it’s a challenge.”
