F1 champion Lewis Hamilton to be given OLD Ferrari following Mercedes snub

Lewis Hamilton

Hamilton to be given OLD Ferrari following Mercedes snub

Lewis Hamilton will be making his Ferrari debut in the F1-75

Jay Winter

Friday 15 November 2024 22:00

Lewis Hamilton is set to be given an old Ferrari to drive in 2025, when he makes the switch to Maranello ahead of next season.

The seven-time Formula 1 champion stunned the F1 world when he announced that he would be ditching the Mercedes partnership that has brought him 12 highly successful seasons in the sport.

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Since then, there has been much excitement about when Hamilton might make his debut in red, with the end of season Abu Dhabi tyre test already being ruled out by Mercedes due to sponsor activities for the Brit.

Lewis Hamilton driving for Mercedes, chasing his 2025 team-mate Charles Leclerc

When will Hamilton drive for Ferrari?

According to current F1 regulations, drivers cannot test a new season’s car outside of official pre-season sessions, but Ferrari can offer Hamilton a chance to get up to speed under its ‘testing of previous cars’ (TPC) provision.

Lewis Hamilton will be replacing Carlos Sainz at Ferrari in 2025

Vasseur is confident that Hamilton’s extensive experience will allow him to acclimatise quickly with minimal track time, confirming his practice time in the 2022 F1-75.

“I’m not sure that he needs tons of hours of acclimatisation,” Vasseur told Motorsport.com.

“He is experienced enough to be quick on the first day, or at least very soon. We’ll have one or two TPC days, plus the test in Bahrain, and that will be enough.”

Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Mercedes Abu Dhabi Fred Vasseur Maranello