Lewis Hamilton drives bizarre THREE-seater Ferrari F1 car at test track

Seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton has been spotted at Ferrari's test track, driving an unusual piece of machinery.

Fresh from his victory at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix last weekend, Hamilton was with his team at Fiorano, Ferrari's private test track.

He was likely filming some promotional content for the team, but rather unusually, was not driving a single-seater F1 car.

Instead, Hamilton was caught in footage that has gone viral on social media driving a three-seated F1 car, with two passengers sat behind the driver, either side of the cockpit.

It's an unusual machine and one that is often used for 'F1 experience' days for fans, or for young racing drivers who want to learn how an F1 car handles.

For Hamilton, he had Italian entrepreneurs Gian Enrico Gilardi and Francesco Ragazzi in the passenger seats, before the trio posed for a photo with the Ferrari team at the track.

READ MORE: Hamilton won thanks to groundbreaking new Ferrari innovation

Is a three-seater F1 car similar to a modern-day F1 car?

The bizarre vehicle Hamilton was seen piloting is very similar to the cars we see racing around the world each season in terms of its shape, but no so much in its specifications.

The car that Hamilton was driving around Fiorano had the unmistakable sound of a 3.0-litre V10 engine previously used in F1, and this particular Ferrari model is supposed to be a replica of the legendary F2002, in which Michael Schumacher claimed 10 grand prix victories and the 2002 drivers' title.

These days, the three-seated F2002 replica is used simply for promotional reasons and for the Ferrari F1 Clienti programme.

Hamilton will return to the more regular single-seater SF-26 next weekend as he continues his pursuit of an unprecedented eighth world championship title at the Austrian Grand Prix.

READ MORE: Sky F1 pundit says Lewis Hamilton has done at Ferrari what Charles Leclerc failed to do

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