Lewis Hamilton is the latest multiple-world champion to race for Ferrari. The 40-year-old has been preparing extensively for his first season in red.
Hamilton had to wait almost a year to put on the colours of F1’s most successful team. Now his lifelong dream is reality, the seven-time champion is looking to get comfortable with his 2025 challenger during pre-season testing in Bahrain.
The Brit gave the SF-25 its first outing in Fiorano last week in a shakedown session before heading to the Sakhir International Circuit for three days of testing. Hamilton will miss out on direct comparisons to Charles Leclerc as the pair cannot run at the same time on track.
Nevertheless, testing will be crucial for the 40-year-old to get accustomed to the car and its setup. Hamilton has not been using his definitive steering wheel during his four private tests with Ferrari – this will be one key thing to nail down in Bahrain.
It is also the first proper opportunity to work with his new race engineer Riccardo Adami. Hamilton is looking to strike a similar relationship with the Italian that he had with Peter Bonnington at Mercedes.
Lewis Hamilton has been ‘really looking’ at Sebastian Vettel’s preparation at Ferrari with Riccardo Adami
Adami is most known for being the race engineer for Sebastian Vettel, working with the German during his time at Toro Rosso and Ferrari. He also was Carlos Sainz’s engineer before he left for Williams.
Speaking at a press conference in Bahrain via Ted’s Notebook on Sky Sports, Hamilton admitted he has been ‘really looking’ Vettel’s preparations at Ferrari – the German had more of a headstart in Maranello with the Brit starting work in January.
Hamilton says things are ‘on plan’ with Adami and that information sharing is ‘well reciprocated’ on both sides.
“My engineer and I are also learning how we both like to work in terms of communication. So after every session, every time I go out basically, we come back in, we’re making adjustments to the information I give him and vice versa.
“But I think it’s on plan, like we couldn’t be further ahead with the short space of time that we’ve had.
“And I’ve been really looking into the previous great drivers that came along such as Sebastian and Fernando, who started much earlier than me in November for example.
“So we’ve done a lot in that small period of time we’ve had but I think it’s been really great. Really well reciprocated on both sides.”
Lewis Hamilton has already beaten Ferrari’s 2024 test time in Bahrain
While lap times are not much to go off at this stage, Hamilton has looked comfortable in the SF025 thus far in Bahrain.
The Brit topped the time sheets in the morning session on day two before he was dethroned at the top by Carlos Sainz in the Williams. Hamilton’s time was faster than Sainz’s 2024 lap in testing – showing a clear step forward from the Maranello outfit.
Toto Wolff says Hamilton has been ‘very impressive’ in testing with Ferrari. The Austrian is dealing with not having the seven-time champion at Mercedes since 2012.
The SF-25 has caught everyone’s attention with its aggressive changes to the front suspension. Everyone is talking about Ferrari’s new sidepods, with the design proving ‘hugely influential’ already.
It is clear Ferrari have taken a step forward – a massive confidence boost for Hamilton as he searches for his eighth world championship.
Leave feedback about this