Lewis Hamilton seems to be enjoying life at Ferrari ahead of his debut season with the Maranello-based squad.
The seven-time world champion has been working hard behind the scenes to prepare for what will be a highly anticipated season, as he attempts to win his eighth world championship with the outfit.
Hamilton has taken part in tests at Ferrari’s famed test track Fiorano and Barcelona as part of a test for the 2026 tyre specification.
Thousands of fans turned up to watch Hamilton turn his first laps in a previous Ferrari car, while also doing the same when he eventually drove the SF-25 for the first time at Fiorano this week.
The SF-25 features an upgraded front suspension, which should help Ferrari extract even more performance from their car and put it on par with Red Bull and McLaren for 2025.
For all of the excitement and anticipation, Hamilton has said there was one thing that he found the most ‘fun’ while at Ferrari that he didn’t have at Mercedes when speaking to BBC.
Lewis Hamilton says pre-season testing more ‘fun’ at Ferrari
Hamilton is known for not being a driver who usually takes part in simulator days, preferring to drive the car properly on track.
During his days at Mercedes, he also took part in a limited amount of testing days, having admitted to ‘pulling a sickie’ once after saying he did not like test days due to the long hours and endless laps. Now Hamilton says they are more fun because he needs to get up to speed with more things.
“It’s really exciting because we’ve had more driving than we normally have in pre-season. I’m not a big tester, but it’s been really fun to get in and experience this completely new feeling of car and engine, and get yourself comfortable in the cockpit,” said Hamilton.
“The steering wheel has more buttons and lights than the one I’ve had in the past and I think getting everything set up so when we get to race one it’s not hopefully the first six months, you’re getting those tuned, they are already ready, so we’ve put a huge amount of work into that.”
What people at Ferrari have said about working with Lewis Hamilton so far
Hamilton has already given a one-word answer about what it is like to drive for Ferrari at the recent F1 75 event in London, where he received a big reception from the crowd.
Having been working hard at Ferrari’s factory in Maranello to acclimatise himself with the team, including learning some Italian phrases.
READ MORE: All you need to know about Scuderia Ferrari from team principal to factory
Hamilton admitted that it has been ‘tough’ in his first few weeks at Ferrari, given the switch in culture and it is his first team in F1 outside of the UK.
Former Ferrari driver Jean Alesi has said that Hamilton has ‘impressed everybody’ he has worked with so far at the team through his work ethic, and the way he has presented himself.
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