Ferrari fans have been waiting for nearly a year now to see Lewis Hamilton in action for the very first time in one of their Formula 1 cars.
Lewis Hamilton announced at the beginning of February 2024 that he would be swapping the Silver Arrows for the Scuderia ahead of the final stage of his F1 career.
Ferrari enter the 2025 campaign with high hopes that they could go one better in the Constructors’ Championship and defeat McLaren with their new driver pairing.
Charles Leclerc has proven himself to be one of the most dependable drivers on the grid but the arrival of Hamilton could push him to find another level of performance.
Ferrari have had to deny when Hamilton’s first test run will be but with the likes of Mercedes and Haas running for the first time this week, it’s well-known that both drivers will likely be in one of their old cars sooner rather than later.
Hamilton hasn’t had to adapt to new surroundings in Formula 1 since his switch from McLaren to Mercedes in 2013, and even then, he would have been aware of some of his new team’s processes given Mercedes were McLaren’s engine supplier.
The move to Ferrari will be completely alien to him, but a report from Autoracer has shared more details about when he’ll start adapting to his new surroundings.
While the Tifosi will be clamouring to see Hamilton in one of Ferrari’s iconic Formula 1 cars, it appears as though team principal Frederic Vasseur wants him to start getting used to the team’s cars in the simulator.
The 40-year-old can do an unlimited amount of running in the sim, meaning that although track time will be vital to getting up to speed, the majority of the work he’ll be doing for the 2025 season will happen behind the scenes.
Lewis Hamilton’s first Ferrari simulator session to take place next week
The report from Autoracer suggests that there is already ‘optimism and enthusiasm’ about Hamilton starting work at their factory in Maranello.
He’s set to meet with his team of engineers in a few days before getting to work in the car.
Ferrari won’t officially unveil Hamilton and the SF-25 until February 19, a day after F1’s official launch event in London.
However, by then Hamilton would have already done a significant amount of work behind closed doors.
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They report that Hamilton’s first session in the Ferrari simulator is scheduled for January 20.
Ferrari’s test track at Fiorano is booked out from January 21-23 and they believe the ‘most likely’ date for his debut is January 22.
However, Hamilton’s first Ferrari could change dates at the last minute if the weather isn’t good enough.
Given he’ll only be allowed to do 1,000km of running in private tests this year, he and the team won’t want to waste it if it’s raining.
Lewis Hamilton to get first taste of Ferrari action in their 2022 Formula 1 car
Ferrari – and every other team in the paddock – aren’t allowed to start testing their 2025 cars until they reach pre-season running in Bahrain aside from two filming days where the current spec car can run for 200km a day.
It doesn’t appear likely that Ferrari will use any of their filming days before heading to Sakhir, meaning Hamilton will have to settle for learning the team’s processes and procedures in one of their old cars.
Ferrari are set to hand Hamilton his debut in their 2022 season car, the F1-75.
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His speed around the test circuit in Fiorano will be irrelevant, with getting to grips with a new steering wheel and other minor differences between Ferrari and Mercedes cars the priority.
Hamilton will be working with Riccardo Adami as his race engineer as Peter Bonnington didn’t follow him from Mercedes and will instead be working with Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
All the time they can spend together on the track will be vital before reaching the Australian Grand Prix, although Sebastian Vettel had lots to say about Adami during their time working together.
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