Seven-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton officially began his Ferrari career this week with a series of test runs at Ferrari’s Italian headquarters in Maranello.
“Driving a Scuderia Ferrari HP car for the first time this morning was one of the best feelings of my life,” Hamilton said after completing his first laps, per Laurence Edmondson of ESPN.
“When I started the car up and drove through that garage door, I had the biggest smile on my face. It reminded me of the very first time I tested a Formula One car. It was such an exciting and special moment, and here I am, almost 20 years later, feeling those emotions all over again.”
Hamilton’s shock move to Ferrari has attracted unprecedented attention from F1 fans across the globe. Hamilton’s first Instagram post with the team — taken in front of Enzo Ferrari’s converted farmhouse at the Fiorano circuit — became the most-liked post in F1 history in a matter of hours.
That fan interest extended to Hamilton’s test drive, too. Thousands of tifosi — ardent fans — flocked to Maranello to watch Hamilton’s first practice laps in freezing conditions.
“I already knew from the outside how passionate the Ferrari family is, from everyone in the team to the tifosi,” Hamilton said after the test drive. “But to now witness it firsthand as a Ferrari driver has been awe-inspiring.”
Hamilton’s Ferrari switch is a match made in heaven for both parties: He is chasing his elusive, record-breaking eighth world title, while Ferrari is chasing its first driver championship since Kimi Raikkonen won the series in 2007. With recent championship-winning sides Red Bull and Mercedes struggling in advance of the 2025 season, there’s a sense of fate swirling around Ferrari’s Maranello headquarters.
But Hamilton isn’t the only driver capable of winning a championship for Ferrari this year. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari’s Monegasque driver known as il predestinato for his otherworldly skill, will push Hamilton to the limit in 2025. He has driven for the Italian team since 2019 and should enter the season with a serious advantage: He knows the car, and the team, far better than Hamilton does.
Watching Leclerc and Hamilton battle for dominance in their respective Ferraris should be one of the highlights of the 2025 season. If Hamilton wins, it will reinforce his standing as one of the greatest of all time; if Leclerc does, it will lift him into the upper echelon of modern F1 drivers.
The first Ferrari test for Hamilton and Leclerc were run in sample cars from previous seasons. They’ll test out Ferrari’s new 2025 vehicle at the end of February, when they (and the rest of the F1 grid) travel to Bahrain for official preseason testing.
The 2025 F1 season will begin March 16 with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.
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