Lewis Hamilton 'really enjoying' driving new Ferrari car at F1 Testing after showing Bahrain pace promise

Lewis Hamilton says his first month as a Ferrari driver “couldn’t have gone any better” and he is “slowly bonding” with the team’s 2025 car ahead of the first race with them in a fortnight’s time.

Hamilton was speaking after completing his second session of running in Ferrari’s new SF-25 car at Bahrain testing on Thursday, a morning which saw the 40-year-old set what stands as the second-fastest time of the week.

And while headline lap times from testing are rarely an accurate indicator of true performance with teams running differing programmes and fuel loads, Hamilton struck a clear note of optimism and positivity about his start to life at Ferrari when speaking in TV interviews afterwards.

“How you start is often very important,” said Hamilton of his first weeks at Ferrari since arriving at the Scuderia in mid-January.

“This past month couldn’t have gone any different and couldn’t have gone any better. Things along the way had to happen, Barcelona had to happen.

“Every day has been significant and about building foundation. Whilst I mentioned we had to cram a lot in a small space of time, we haven’t rushed it.

“Long days, but that’s what we’re here for. I think it will pay dividends going forwards. This will continuously be evolving and it’s felt seamless, felt easy in a sense of gelling with the team. I’ve not had to force it and I feel at home.”

Hamilton ‘really enjoying’ driving 2025 Ferrari

While much of Hamilton’s prospects in the 2025 season – which starts with the Australian GP on March 16 live on Sky Sports F1 – will ultimately rest on the competitiveness of Ferrari’s latest challenger, his first season in red is also set to be determined by his own acclimatisation to the SF-25 after struggles for consistency with recent Mercedes cars in the ground-effect rules era.

Asked if he felt Ferrari’s 2025 car concept felt better for him compared with the one he drove at Mercedes in 2024, Hamilton said: “I think it’s a bit early to say but I am really enjoying the car. We are slowly bonding I think.

“Yesterday was a so-so day, it was just OK. But we got through all our run plans, we are testing a bunch of things. I’m not doing set-up changes or directing where we want the car to go, whereas today was exploring a bit my interaction with my engineer.

“So far, I really enjoy driving this car.”

And on adapting to the differences of a Ferrari F1 car, Hamilton added: “These days are about exploring. At the moment, there’s still room to explore more and bit by bit I’m eking out a bit more.

“All the settings are so different, even brake bias is different. I’m not necessarily unlearning what I had before but am learning this new way of working and the way this car has to be driven is different and that’s a fun journey.

“I feel like the car is underneath me and responding to my inputs. There’s still more work to do but timings are not massively relevant, you just have to focus on your programme.

“We will have a bit of a base feeling tomorrow but I think it will be very close. Everyone has done a great job over the winter, even the Williams looks good.”

Sky Sports F1’s live pre-season testing schedule

Friday February 28 – Day Three

• 6.50am-11.05am: Morning Session
• 11.55am-4.05pm: Afternoon Session
• 8pm: Testing Wrap
• 8.30pm: Ted’s Testing Notebook
• 9pm: Ted’s Development Corner

When is the first F1 race?

For the first time since 2019, the season-opener will be held in Melbourne at the Australian Grand Prix on March 14-16. The first race has switched from Bahrain to Australia due to Ramadan taking place throughout March.

There are 24 events on the 2025 F1 calendar, the same number as last year, with the season ending at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on December 5-7.

Watch all 24 race weekends from the 2025 Formula 1 season live on Sky Sports F1, starting with the Australian GP on March 14-16. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – No contract, cancel anytime