Lewis Hamilton completed his first laps in a Ferrari Formula 1 car on Wednesday morning. He drove the 2023 machinery, as permitted under the rules.
Hamilton’s test took place at Fiorano, Ferrari’s private track. He took to the circuit just after 9am local time, adopting a cautious approach in damp and misty conditions.
More than a thousand fans watched Hamilton despite the unfavourable weather. They’ve clearly been looking forward to this occasion for months.
Indeed, Maranello’s mayor declared ‘a state of emergency’, requesting extra police officers to cope with the ‘onslaught’ of fans. All the hotels in the area were booked up.
Hamilton completed 90km, just under a third of an F1 race distance. He’s capped at 1,000 for the year in TPC (testing previous cars) outings.
This is just the beginning of an extensive programme designed to get him up to speed before the season-opening Australian Grand Prix. Hamilton will also drive the Ferrari in Barcelona, home of the Spanish GP.
Damon Hill reacts to Lewis Hamilton climbing into Ferrari car for the first time
Much of the footage to emerge from Wednesday’s landmark test was captured by journalists and fans trackside. But Ferrari also released an official video.
It shows Hamilton leaving Enzo Ferrari’s home, which overlooks the circuit, in his racesuit. He then arrives at the garage, where he puts on his new yellow helmet, climbs into the cockpit and crawls out of the pits.
One would imagine that this was an emotional moment. Hamilton has dreamed of Ferrari for 20 years, according to his new team boss Frederic Vasseur.
Writing on his Instagram story in response to the garage clip, 1996 F1 world champion Damon Hill said: “That must feel amazing.”
Hill spent the entirety of his F1 career at British teams, beginning at Brabham before his title-winning stint at Williams. He then moved to Arrows and Jordan.
Likewise, Hamilton has been used to reporting to UK factories in Woking (McLaren) and Brackley (Mercedes). This represents a cultural reset for the seven-time world champion.
Lewis Hamilton’s lap times from Ferrari debut have now been revealed
Hill has been following Hamilton’s first week at Ferrari closely. He’s no longer a pundit for Sky Sports F1 but remains a keen observer.
Indeed, Hill also reacted to Hamilton’s first photo in Ferrari gear on Tuesday evening. The volume of publicity in recent days has surely confirmed that this is the biggest driver transfer ever.
Hamilton lapped a few seconds off the pace of Charles Leclerc, who also drove the car at Fiorano ahead of the 2023 season. Averaging around a 1:00.00 in his first runs, he was also some way adrift of Michael Schumacher’s overall record (55.999).
But the conditions weren’t conducive to performance runs. And for Hamilton, this was more about getting used to a new cockpit and a new set of engineers than it was pushing flat-out.
