Details emerge of Lewis Hamilton's first day driving a Ferrari

Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton had his first experience driving a Ferrari at the team's Fiorano track earlier today. Driving the 2023 car, Hamilton completed 30 laps from around 9 am local time to noon local time. The British driver also took a moment during the session and after to acknowledge the crowds that had gathered at the track to watch his debut in the Scarlet team's vehicle

Hamilton left the garage at around 09:16 am driving the SF-23, a car that scored a single victory at the Singapore GP thanks to Carlos Sainz, who Hamilton has replaced at the team this year. The vehicle featured Hamilton's number 44, which he used during his time with Mercedes, choosing to stick with it even after his championship wins. The conditions at the track at the beginning of the session were misty, with the track being wet along with low temperatures and fog, accompanied by humidity.

Hamilton started the testing on wet tyres, before eventually moving to slicks as the session continued and the track began to dry. By 11:42, the Briton had completed 30 laps, equivalent to 90 km of distance being covered. Rain began to fall once again towards the end of Hamilton's run, and the temperature also never allowed the tires to get warm enough and caused some lock-ups at hairpin bends on the track during his laps.

The purpose of this first session was for the former Mercedes driver to understand the procedures followed by his new team, along with working with the pit crew and his new race engineer, Riccardo Adami. He also practiced starts and ran 5 to 10 laps at a stretch to get comfortable with the vehicle, helping provide data for the team to use and understand.

At the end of the session, Hamilton was taken to the fences where fans had gathered to watch his debut in a Ferrari, and he thanked them with a wave as appreciation for their attendance. He also waved at them from the car during testing. The next time Lewis Hamilton will get into a Ferrari will be at the team's testing session in Barcelona at the Circuit de Catalunya, towards the end of this month.

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A look at Lewis Hamilton's helmet for testing

Before Lewis Hamilton hit the track earlier today, he took to his Instagram to share the look of his helmet for the testing session. While predominantly yellow, possibly an homage to his racing idol Ayrton Senna, it also featured hints of red and the number 44.

Hamilton shared the image of the helmet second, after he shared a look at him in the red uniform of Ferrari, with the captions for both photographs working in tandem with each other:

Fans will see Hamilton testing the team's 2025 car during the pre-season testing session at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir at the end of February.