Lewis Hamilton almost a second slower than Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc after first run on SF-25: Reports

It is being reported that Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton was almost a second behind his teammate Charles Leclerc after completing their first runs in the SF-25. The two drivers shared the car on February 19 when the Italian team did a shakedown in the new 2025 challenger in Fiorano, in front of the adoring Tifosi.

It was the duo's first time driving the SF-25, which they launched to the world a day before the F1 75 Launch at the O2 Arena in London. Lewis Hamilton joined the team last month and has been acclimatizing himself to the new environment ahead of the official pre-season test in Bahrain next week.

As reported by Marca, the seven-time F1 world champion was almost eight-tenths behind Charles Leclerc during the first shakedown of the SF-25. However, the timings will be unrepresentative, as the special tires used will not affect performance in the upcoming season.

It is also believed that the two drivers were running different programs with the Monegasque focused on extracting performance, while the 40-year-old had firmly set his sides on building more confidence. After the first run, both drivers gave positive feedback regarding the handling of that 2025 challenger ahead of the pre-season testing.

Lewis Hamilton chimes in on the possibility of winning an eighth title at Ferrari

Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton stated that he was not focusing on winning his eighth driver's championship but wanted to win his first with the Italian team.

Speaking with F1.com, the former Mercedes driver spoke about the feat and reflected:

“To me, it would be the first. Winning the Ferrari championship is the first. That's what I'm working towards. I don't think about the number eight. I'm thinking about the first championship that the team's won for some time, although they've already had many, many World Championships over history.

“So, for me, it's looking for that first one with the team, and right now it's about how can I contribute to that. How can I help them achieve that? If I was fortunate enough to win another title, which is obviously what we are setting out to do, I don't see myself stopping."

He also shed light on the Prancing Horses' chances of competing for the title in the upcoming season and added:

“I do believe this team has absolutely everything to win – we’ve just got to build one step at a time. We don’t know what everyone else is bringing. We’ll just get to Bahrain and we’ll just keep our heads down and focus on doing our job and maximizing our three days."

Lewis Hamilton last won a title in 2020 despite coming agonizingly close to an elusive eighth at the season finale in Abu Dhabi but lost the opportunity on the last lap of the race to Max Verstappen.