Lewis Hamilton Set to Debut for Ferrari in 2022 Car at Start of 2025 Season
In a significant development for Formula 1 fans, Lewis Hamilton’s first appearance for Ferrari is now expected to take place at the start of the 2025 season, with the seven-time champion getting behind the wheel of the team’s 2022 car. The news comes as Hamilton prepares to leave Mercedes after 12 seasons with the German manufacturer, a decision he made at the beginning of this year.
Early Test Opportunity Ruled Out
There had been speculation that Ferrari might be able to get an early start on bedding in its partnership with Hamilton by releasing him for the post-season tyre test in Abu Dhabi, which takes place on the Tuesday following the Formula 1 season finale in December. However, Autosport has learned that this scenario has now been ruled out, with Mercedes committing Hamilton to end-of-year promotional commitments, including an appearance for team title sponsor Petronas on the day of the Abu Dhabi test.
Preparation Plan for 2025 Season
As a result, Ferrari will have to wait until the start of next year to get Hamilton behind the wheel of one of its cars. Under Formula 1 regulations, beyond a filming day, a run in the 2025 challenger is not allowed outside of the pre-season Bahrain test. However, Ferrari is planning to give Hamilton his first run in one of its previous cars before then, utilizing one or two of the squad’s ‘Testing of Previous Cars’ (TPC) days.
“I’m not sure that he needs tons of hours of acclimatisation. He is experienced enough to be quick on the first day, or at least very soon. We’ll have one or two TPC days, plus the test in Bahrain, and that will be enough.” – Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur
Under Formula 1’s TPC rules, teams are allowed to run cars that were “designed and constructed in order to comply with the Technical Regulations of any of the three (3) calendar years falling immediately prior to the calendar year preceding the year of the championship.” This means that teams can currently run their 2022 cars, the first generation of machinery built for the new ground effect regulations.
Ferrari is likely to hand Hamilton an outing in its 2022 car, the F1-75, at its own Fiorano test track, located adjacent to its Maranello factory. Vasseur confirmed that work is underway at the factory to finalize a program to get Hamilton up to speed with Ferrari’s operations before the start of the 2025 campaign.
Stay tuned for more Formula 1 news, including updates on the 2025 season and Hamilton’s transition to Ferrari.
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