Lewis Hamilton was “trying things” during his first test for Ferrari this week, with the seven-time F1 World Champion not content to “just go round” the track at Fiorano. 

That is the claim of Vicky Piria, the Italian racing driver, who witnessed the run trackside in her capacity as a Sky Italy presenter.

Lewis Hamilton ‘trying things’ during Ferrari test debut

Almost a year after his move from Mercedes was announced, Hamilton made his first public appearances as a Ferrari driver this week as his preparations for the F1 2025 season stepped up.

After meeting his new team at the Maranello factory on Monday, the seven-time World Champion got his first taste of a Ferrari F1 car at the team’s Fiorano test track on Wednesday.

Hamilton completed 30 laps behind the wheel of the team’s 2023 car in wet conditions and later described his first test for Ferrari as “one of the best feelings of my life.”

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Ferrari are set to hold another private test in Barcelona from Tuesday, with Hamilton and team-mate Charles Leclerc also set to participate in a Pirelli tyre test with a modified 2024 car at the Spanish Grand Prix venue in early February.

Such was the huge public interest in Hamilton’s Ferrari track debut – attended by hundreds of members of the tifosi, the team’s hardcore fanbase – that the test was broadcast live by Sky Italy.

Piria has fronted Sky’s F1 coverage in Italy since last year, having replaced Federica Masolin as the channel’s lead presenter at the start of last season.

And the 31-year-old, who spent a single season in the GP3 (now F3) feeder series in 2012, has offered fresh insight into Hamilton’s first outing at Fiorano.

Piria claimed that Hamilton was not content to rack up the laps, with the former Mercedes driver experimenting with different functions like the differential and brake balance in the cockpit.

She told Sky Sports News: “Even though it was really damp, wet and really cold, we saw Lewis try different stuff.

“We saw him work a bit with the E-Diff, we saw him work with the brake balance, saw some locking.

“He wasn’t just going around and doing installation laps, he was actually trying things.

“Not pushing pushing, but trying things.

“That’s him getting into the momentum, understanding things, the settings on the steering wheel and how they work.

“They learn everything on the sim but then actually transferring the feelings onto the real track.

“So it’s really forward motion for him because it’s not long before Australia.”

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Piria’s comments come after reports from trackside indicated that Hamilton struggled with the Ferrari’s pedals during brief outing at Fiorano.

Hamilton is believed to have tried various adjustments to the pedals over the course of the test without finding a comfortable solution.

The issue caused him to lock his brakes twice – at the first corner and the hairpin – with Hamilton coming dangerously close to the gravel run-off areas on both occasions.

Ferrari are expected to resolve the problem ahead of this week’s second test in Barcelona, with Hamilton and Leclerc expected to arrive at the circuit on Monday.

Hamilton is understood to have adjusted well to the Ferrari steering wheel, requesting only a few minor modifications.

It was previously feared that he would insist on sticking with the functions and systems he had become accustomed to at Mercedes since 2013.

His initial bond with new race engineer Riccardo Adami, who previously worked with predecessors Carlos Sainz and Sebastian Vettel, has also been described as positive.

Reports this week claimed Hamilton had repeatedly called Vettel in the weeks leading up to his Ferrari debut to ‘compare notes’ with the four-time World Champion.

Hamilton was seen writing in a notebook in Ferrari’s garage facility during the test at Fiorano, drawing comparisons with Vettel, who was renowned for his attention to detail.

Hamilton gained a reputation for trying various setup experiments during his final three seasons with Mercedes in a bid to help the team find a breakthrough under the ground-effect regulations.

He moved away from trying adventurous setups after last year’s Chinese Grand Prix, where hours after finishing second to Max Verstappen in the sprint race Hamilton could only manage 18th place in qualifying.

Returning to a more conventional approach saw Hamilton rewarded with a return to winning ways, with Hamilton winning at Silverstone and Spa in quick succession last July.

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