Watch: Lewis Hamilton turns inspector on pitlane walk

Lewis Hamilton turned inspector as he took a stroll down the pitlane to view the 2022 F1 cars. The Briton took a special peek at the Red Bull F1 team garage as his 2021 rival Max Verstappen got geared up for the morning session of the first day of the preseason test in Barcelona.

Watch Lewis Hamilton take a stroll down the pitlane in the video below:

The Briton, who wasn't due to drive until the afternoon session, indulged in his own experience of observing the eventful pitlane which was brimming with new innovative designs. With his team-mate George Russell busy racking up mileage on the Mercedes W13, the seven-time world champion wore his spy hat as he scoped his team's competitors.

Speaking at the driver's conference about his spying, Lewis Hamilton said:

“This morning, arriving and walking down the pit lane and seeing all the different cars, it’s probably one of the most exciting and interesting seasons that I have ever embarked upon. It will be interesting to see where everyone comes out and where we stand at the start of the first race.”

The Briton was spotted walking up and down the pitlane as drivers took to the first session of running in the new 2022 cars. With the Barcelona test being a closed one, i.e. without televised runs, drivers and fans alike are excited to see what cars the teams are fielding in the new era of the sport.

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Lewis Hamilton takes a special peek in the Red Bull garage

The Mercedes champion took a sneak peek into rival Max Verstappen's garage as the Dutchman prepared to hit the tarmac with his new tools. With a private shakedown before the preseason test, RB18 broke cover for the first time at the Barcelona circuit, where the F1 world and Lewis Hamilton got their first glimpse of Red Bull's mean machine.

In an attempt to avoid revealing the design details of RB18, the Milton Keynes outfit conducted a private shakedown and filming day at the Silverstone circuit and used a dummy car at the launch. So there was a lot of anticipation and intrigue surrounding the reigning champion's 2022 challenger.

Describing the short interaction with the reigning champion, the Briton said:

“I didn’t bump into him in the pit lane, but I saw him come by [in his car]. That’s probably as close as we will get this week.”

While the Briton did take a peek into the garage as the Dutchman sat in his car, the two 2021 rivals have not interacted since the last time they shared a podium at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in December. The intriguing aspect of the 2022 season will be whether Red Bull's head-turning RB18 is quick enough to help the Dutch champion defend his title against Mercedes' multi-champion.