Lewis Hamilton shares first impressions after driving Ferrari at the F1 pre-season test

Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton said it was too early to gain an understanding of the performance levels of the SF-25 after completing his first run on Day 1 of the F1 Testing in Bahrain. The seven-time F1 world champion officially joined the Italian team on January 20 and had his first run in the red car two days later.

In the last month, the 40-year-old has been doing TPC in the 2023 and 2024 challengers to get to grips with the mechanisms of the Prancing Horses. Hamilton took to the Sakhir International Circuit in the morning session to get out of the gates quickly and got 70 laps under his belt.

Speaking to the media after Day 1 of testing, Lewis Hamilton reflected on his first impressions of the SF-25, claiming that testing was always "exciting."

“Testing is always exciting," Hamilton said (as quoted by Pit Debrief). "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."

Offering insight into the team's approach for testing, he said:

“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. Right now I’m looking forward to getting out there again tomorrow.”

Lewis Hamilton had set multiple fast laps on Day 1 but finished a second off his teammate Charles Leclerc after the latter took the track in the quicker evening session.

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F1 pundit comments on Lewis Hamilton's Day 2 at Testing

Former F1 driver and pundit Karun Chandhok believed that while Lewis Hamilton did not have an optimal first day, he looked relatively more comfortable on the following day in his SF-25.

Speaking with Sky Sports F1 on the broadcast, the former Caterham driver reflected on the 40-year-old's run and said:

"Yesterday it just looked like the front of the car wasn't quite there for Lewis, but today it certainly looked like, while the circuit has improved and everyone is going a second quicker, he had a car underneath him that he could turn and manipulate a corner like he wants."

Similar to Day 1, Lewis Hamilton set multiple fast laps in the morning session of Day 2, eventually finishing atop the timing charts by registering a lap faster than his ex-teammate, George Russell.

The Brit completed 70 laps on the second day as well, and will likely take the car in the evening session on the final day. Hamilton will look to put up an improved 2025 season following his last year at Mercedes, where he finished seventh in the driver standings, 22 points behind his former teammate Russell.