Lewis Hamilton has successfully completed his first pre-season testing session in Ferrari’s 2025 Formula 1 car.
Although many fans would have hoped to have seen fireworks from Lewis Hamilton as soon as he took to the track, that’s not the purpose of pre-season testing in F1.
Instead, Hamilton was getting as many laps under his belt as a Ferrari driver as possible.
Although he didn’t complete the most distance on the track on Wednesday morning – that award went to his replacement at Mercedes Andrea Kimi Antonelli – he kept his car out of the barriers and didn’t make any serious mistakes.
Hamilton still has two more sessions to complete in Bahrain before travelling to Australia for the first race of the season.
Paddock insiders are excited about Hamilton’s Ferrari but until it can be accurately compared to the other cars on the grid, it’s impossible to know just how much the SF-25 has been improved over the winter.
Hamilton has been working extremely hard at the factory and journalist Jon Noble, speaking on The Race F1 Podcast, has shared more details about his body language both at Fiorano and recent Ferrari press events.
Lewis Hamilton ‘reinvigorated’ after joining Ferrari for the 2025 F1 season
Noble was talking about Hamilton’s preparations ahead of testing and said: “I think this week for Lewis will be about getting an indication of is this car one he can work with or not.
“The Mercedes didn’t suit him, the characteristics, the inability to attack on corner entry, snappy on the way through, snappy on the way out, it didn’t particularly suit him.
“All drivers have to adapt their driving style to certain cars, the key will be how far he needs to switch that style to adapt to the Ferrari.
“I think that’s the box tick he’ll want. Equally, they’re great for Charles. He will hit the ground running, but I think if the car is good then that’s equally as good for Lewis.
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“Body language does tell an awful lot because we could tell, you know, Lewis did all these TPC tests, did the Pirelli test, obviously had that problem in Barcelona with the crash.
“But when we’ve observed him in media events or when we’ve seen him around Fiorano, the body language is good.
“The vibes are positive, he seems smiley, there are no alarm bells ringing, there’s no I don’t get on with this car, there’s big problems to sort, everything’s all about box ticks.
“He seems energised, he’s reinvigorated, he’s pushing on, he sees the opportunity.
“So, we just need to watch him closely in the paddock and the pits this week I think because I think that will be a big indication of where things are at.”
Lewis Hamilton will be buoyed by George Russell’s recent Mercedes comments
Hamilton will hold no resentment towards Mercedes if they succeed in 2025 given how brilliant their partnership was over the past decade.
However, after three years when he was barely able to challenge for victories, he’ll hope that he’s made the right choice by joining Ferrari for sporting reasons as well as emotional ones.
George Russell’s recent comments on the 2025 Ferrari will please Hamilton as he doesn’t sound completely convinced that they’ve resolved the problems they both faced last year.
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Although lap times can’t be read into too much in testing, Antonelli was the fastest driver in the first-morning session of pre-season.
Alex Brundle was impressed by Antonelli’s confidence, but Hamilton demonstrated the calmness and consistency that have made him a seven-time world champion.
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