Lewis Hamilton Set for Ferrari Debut with Test Drive

Lewis Hamilton is set to visit the headquarters of his new team Ferrari this week after joining at the start of the year. The seven-time world champion is expected to make his track debut in a car that is at least two years old in midweek, although Ferrari have stated that the exact timing of the run will be weather dependent. The test will mark nearly one year since Hamilton announced his shock move from Mercedes, where he won six of his seven titles, to Ferrari on a multi-year contract. Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna said his arrival was highly anticipated at a sponsor event last week. 'I think if outside there are high expectations, inside there are even more expectations,' Benedetto said. 'There's a lot of excitement and a lot of will to start. We are all getting ready, the last things are going to be ready very soon. Lewis is coming to Ferrari and we are ready -- we are almost ready for everything. Changes are always wonderful.' F1's regulations mean teams can only test with cars two years or older outside of official preseason testing and Pirelli tyre testing. Drivers taking part in this year's championship are also limited to 1000 km of testing in previous year's cars, although team principal Fred Vasseur said last year he had no concerns about Hamilton, a veteran of 356 Grand Prix starts, getting up to speed. 'For sure we know that we will have a lot of procedures to assimilate during these couple of days, but I think he is experienced enough to do it, that we'll have the advantage to have the simulator,' Vasseur said at the end of last year. 'Obviously he will be able to do a race simulation, qualy simulation into the simulator, and to be fully prepared with the steering wheel and the particularities of the race. But honestly, I'm not worried about this. It's not the biggest challenge.' Ferrari will be able to make use of its own test track, Fiorano, which is based within the team's factory walls. However, it is also likely to conduct a private test at the Circuit de Catalunya, home of the Spanish Grand Prix, in a two or three-year old car later this month. Hamilton's first taste of his 2025 car is expected to come at its launch on Feb. 19 at Fiorano. Teams are allowed to conduct filming or promotional days in their current cars, allowing them to lodge limited mileage outside of official testing. All 10 teams will take part in preseason testing in Bahrain from Feb. 26-28, which will be Hamilton's first opportunity to conduct meaningful mileage in the car he will race this year.