Lewis Hamilton’s arrival at Ferrari is one of the most anticipated stories of the 2025 season, as it will see the most successful driver in Formula 1’s most successful team.
It was a bold move from Hamilton to move away from Mercedes given their past success, having taken six Drivers’ Championships and helped them achieve eighth Constructors’ titles.
The 2026 F1 regulations will also throw up an unknown for teams, as it will see an overhaul of both the engine and chassis regulations.
Hamilton will have factored all of this into his decision-making which means the move could emulate what happened when he moved from McLaren, who were still winning races at the time, to Mercedes in 2013.
Given the anticipation around seeing Hamilton in red, there is likely to be a lot of media attention when he first takes to the track in one of their cars. Journalist Edd Straw has outlined how Ferrari plans to avoid any ‘media circus’ around the event speaking on The Race YouTube channel.
Ferrari will conduct Lewis Hamilton test in ‘secret’
The team is uniquely placed on the F1 grid, given that it has its own private test track at Fiorano based at its headquarters in Maranello.
Ferrari plans to run Hamilton in a 2022 car at Fiorano for the first time in early 2025, although that could change if there is any issues with the weather.
Straw says the team knows how critical this time is for Hamilton, which is why they have a plan for how to go about the test with minimal disruption.
“Running will be limited for Hamilton and conducted in secret, other than a few photos and videos taken and released afterwards,” said Straw.
“This is because Ferrari’s preparation for Hamilton is on ensuring he is as ready as he can be for the start of pre-season testing, rather than creating a media circus. Vassuer describes this as ‘critical’ given there is only six weeks between Hamilton’s arrival and Ferrari’s appearance at the F1 launch.”
Ferrari unveils 2025 challenger launch date
Although all the F1 teams will take part in a season launch event at The O2 in London, Ferrari will stage its own 2025 season launch at Maranello.
The event at The O2 plans to commemorate the 75th season of Formula 1, with all the teams and drivers set to participate on front of a live audience made up of 20,000 people.
READ MORE: All you need to know about Scuderia Ferrari from team principal to factory
It is expected that most teams will unveil their liveries for the season rather than actual cars, given it is so close to the pre-season test in Bahrain a few days later.
This will take place on 18th February in the evening, while Ferrari’s season launch will be on the next day on 19th February.
