Lewis Hamilton Spills the Truth on His Ferrari Entry: 'Way to Go'

Lewis Hamilton discussed the importance of the Testing of Previous Cars (TPC) sessions after he arrived at Ferrari's Maranello headquarters in January. With testing time considerably reduced in recent years in Formula 1, the revised TPC regulations allow teams to conduct track runs with older F1 cars from the same era.

Hamilton's first track outing with Ferrari took place in the 2023 SF-23 F1 car at the team's renowned Fiorano circuit, drawing large crowds at various spots with views of the track. His second TPC run followed the next week at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. A week later, his third track session with the team reportedly involved the SF-24 F1 car during Ferrari’s participation in the Pirelli tire test at the same location. After the F1 75 season launch, the Briton returned to Fiorano for a shakedown run in the latest SF-25.

Hamilton explained that his testing time with Ferrari provided valuable insight into the team's working methods, and the progression through different cars helped him identify the advancements Ferrari made in the current ground effect era. While the pre-season testing from the 26th of February to the 28th of February ramped things up for him, Hamilton was asked about the SF-25 and where it stands in terms of pure performance. The 40-year-old driver explained it would be too early to conclude anything. He said:

“I think that probably, in the last four years or so, I’ve learned that you really can’t judge too much from the first outlook.

“I definitely think in the past years before that, particularly in the previous generation of cars, it was much easier to know where you stood quite early on with that early feeling.

“I would say this is the most positive feeling that I’ve had in a long time. That’s all I can really say for now.”

Hamilton has never been fond of testing, but he noted that the test with Ferrari was something he enjoyed and was thankful for the TPC sessions that helped him adapt in a short time. He added:

“I still am not a fan of testing, but I’ve really enjoyed the testing that I’ve had this year.

“I’m super grateful for the TPC testing that I got to do, and, fortunately… if I only had had this day and a half, I definitely wouldn’t be in the position I’m in now in terms of how comfortable I feel with the car.

“There’s still some ways to go, but, at this point, I’m just excited to get racing.

“I still feel that there’s plenty to come. But, fortunately, I’ve got to drive the 2023 car, so I’ve really been able to compare the 2024 and ’23 car and see where they’ve progressed, the progress they had on those two cars and how they’ve improved into this one."

When Sebastian Vettel joined Ferrari in 2015, he began working with Ferrari after the 2014 season concluded. While Hamilton was late in starting his Ferrari journey, which happened on the 20th of January, he had a lot to take in in a short time, but stressed that he has managed to build a good base with his new team. He added:

“Obviously, I didn’t get to do the test at the end of [2024]. So, for me, I started relatively late compared to others that have come before me like Sebastian [Vettel] – he was here, started in late November [2014], so he had a good two months.

“Whereas for me, it’s been this month period that I’ve had, so a lot has been crammed in that time.

“But, personally, I like to just jump in the deep end and figure it out and that’s what we’re doing. But of course, we’re going through the processes and trying to really… I feel like, in this period of time, we’ve built a really good foundation.

“Everyone looks really quick, really competitive. It looks very, very close. We won’t know until next week, truly exactly where we stand, but we know that we’ve got work to do. Everyone is just heads down.

“I’ve been really inspired and really encouraged by my colleagues, just how focused everybody is and how hard working everyone is, and getting to know everyone in the garage, the night shift crew, you know, just how their processes and how they like to work. It’s this, yeah, it just takes time.”