F1 legend Lewis Hamilton ABSENT from Ferrari first as team-mate takes the wheel

Hamilton, Vasseur, Leclerc, socials — Photo: © IMAGO

Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton ABSENT from Ferrari first as team-mate takes the wheel

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc are now team-mates

By Sam Cook.

Thursday 20 February 2025 19:00

Seven-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton has took a back seat on Ferrari's social media earlier this week after his team-mate took to the track in the team's newly released 2025 challenger.

Hamilton made his pubic debut alongside Charles Leclerc in London the day before at the highly anticipated F1 75 Live launch event where Ferrari unveiled their new livery ahead of the upcoming season opener.

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The Maranello outfit head into 2025 searching for their first championship title of any kind since 2008, boasting a supremely talented driver duo of Hamilton and Leclerc.

The British icon joins the Monegasque driver after his move to Ferrari following 12 highly successful seasons with former team Mercedes, where he claimed six of his seven titles, and 84 grand prix victories.

Lewis Hamilton looked on in Italy as Charles Leclerc took to the track

Ferrari show off SF-25 in on-track debut

Fred Vasseur was also beaming from ear to ear alongside his star-studded driver lineup, with Ferrari now considered to be a serious championship-contending outfit.

The team missed out on constructors' championship success by just 11 points last season, as McLaren's driver pairing of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri propelled the team to the title.

This year's championship looks wide open, with Hamilton and Leclerc expected to challenge Norris, Piastri and four-time world champion Max Verstappen for success.

Now, Ferrari have taken their new challenger out onto the track, giving it its Fiorano debut, the private track where Hamilton made his Ferrari debut earlier this year.

The morning after the first-of-its-kind F175 live event saw Leclerc take on the SF-25 first, while Hamilton watched on from the sidelines for the morning session with his boss Vasseur, according to the official F1 website.

Hamilton got behind the wheel for the afternoon session but was absent from the team's first on-track social media post.

Ferrari took to their Instagram page to show off Leclerc out on track in the SF-25, completing the post with the caption: "Your first images of the SF-25 on track".

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Written by

Sam Cook - Digital Journalist

Sam Cook is a talented young sports journalist and social media professional who now specialises in Formula 1, having previously worked as a football journalist and a local news reporter for a variety of different brands.

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Max Verstappen Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Charles Leclerc Maranello