Lewis Hamilton makes Ferrari SF-25 debut in private Fiorano test
Image credit: Scuderia Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton has taken to the track for the first time behind the wheel of the Ferrari SF-25 car at Fiorano.
After the team presented their new car for the F1 2025 season in the immediate aftermath of the F1 75 event in London on Tuesday, Ferrari’s SF-25 completed its first laps on Wednesday morning.
Lewis Hamilton completes first laps with Ferrari SF-25 at Fiorano
Hamilton’s new team-mate Charles Leclerc had the honour of being the Ferrari driver to record the first laps with the SF-25, with Hamilton spotted filming the moment the car left the garage facility for the first time.
Leclerc is believed to have completed around 30 laps at Fiorano on Wednesday morning, taking the time to greet fans positioned trackside after his running had finished before handing the car over to Hamilton for the afternoon session.
Lewis Hamilton is now out on track in the SF-25! ❤️? pic.twitter.com/hOONBmTzFd
— deni (@fiagirly) February 19, 2025
Hamilton left the garage at around 12:47 local time for his first laps with the SF-25.
The seven-time World Champion’s appearance was met with cheers and applause from the hundreds of fans watching trackside, with Hamilton raising an arm from the cockpit to acknowledge the Tifosi.
Under F1 rules, Hamilton and Leclerc are limited to 100 kilometres of running apiece with the shakedown run classed as a filming day ahead of F1’s official pre-season test in Bahrain next week.
Hamilton’s latest outing at Fiorano sees him return to the venue where he made his first on-track appearance as a Ferrari driver last month.
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The seven-time World Champion completed around 30 laps with Ferrari’s 2023 car in a TPC [Testing of Previous Car] test before Ferrari’s winter schedule took Hamilton and Leclerc to Barcelona for more TPC and Pirelli tyre test running in late January and early February.
Hamilton suffered a setback at the Spanish Grand Prix venue, where he crashed heavily in the final sector on January 29.
The damage and lengthy repair work required prevented Leclerc from taking to the track as planned later that day, with no imagery or footage captured of Hamilton’s accident.
Hamilton and Ferrari elected against publicly addressing the incident at the time, with various theories suggesting a bump on the track surface or the seven-time World Champion’s inexperience with the Ferrari engine contributed to his off.
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Speaking at the launch of the SF-25, however, Hamilton dropped a huge hint that he simply made a mistake as he began to explore “the limits” of his new machinery.
He said: “I’ve enjoyed the testing that we’ve had.
“I’ve had to find the limits of the car as quick as possible, because I only have a handful of days – and I definitely did that!” he laughed.
“It’s just been fun. Each week has been so different.
“There’s still a long road ahead of us and a lot of challenges, for sure, but I think we’ve covered as much as we could possibly cover in the small time we’ve had so far.”
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