Lewis Hamilton Reveals Ferrari Focus After First Run In SF-25 F1 Car

Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton has revealed the team's focus for the ongoing pre-season testing, explaining that Ferrari is experimenting with different setups to gather as much data as possible. The seven-time world champion also shared that these experiments helped him become more familiar with the car, describing the incredible feeling of working with his dream team to improve each run and adapt to his new SF-25.

Hamilton's priorities in his first pre-season test with Ferrari might be different from what he has been experiencing with Mercedes in the last few years. The Maranello outfit could also adopt a different strategy, considering the claim that the SF-25 is 99 percent newer than its predecessor. The overhauled car is a result of the team's determination to win the championship this season after it lost the Constructors' Championship to McLaren by just 14 points.

Hamilton's arrival at Ferrari's Maranello headquarters was an event that received huge attention, and fans are now eager to see how he performs at Ferrari. The Briton's move was motivated by his dream to race for the legendary team and to chase his eighth F1 title.

F1 teams reached the Bahrain International Circuit ahead of pre-season testing, as many took to the track for a shakedown run before beginning their test from the 26th of February. Hamilton finished 70 laps on the first day of testing, followed by his teammate Charles Leclerc, who headed out in the afternoon session. Speaking after the first day of testing, the 40-year-old driver said:

“Testing is always exciting.

“It’s the first time you get to see what everyone has been developing and can start to get a feel for your own car and the year ahead.

“Being here with Scuderia Ferrari HP and in the SF-25 for the first time is an incredible feeling. Our focus right now is on experimenting with different things, gathering as much data as possible and getting familiar with the car, and we’ve already learned a lot.

“It’s too early to really understand performance, but everything feels good and as a team we’re working on the best way to optimise each run.

“There’s more to do over the next few days to get through our programme and understand the car to the best of our ability, but right now I’m looking forward to getting out there again.”

Leclerc, who concluded the day with 71 laps, added:

“It feels good to be back on track. The whole team put a lot of effort into the SF-25 project over the winter break, so it’s exciting to finally get down to work with it.

“It’s always a positive to have a smooth session without anything unexpected happening in terms of your run plan, although of course, it’s still too early to come to any conclusions about our performance.”