Lewis Hamilton drives the Ferrari SF-23 at Fiorano
Reflecting on his first experience at the wheel of a Ferrari F1 car, Lewis Hamilton said it was a racing machine unlike any other he had before.
Hamilton has embarked on a fresh chapter in his storied F1 career, calling time on his iconic Mercedes association which produced six World Championships, 84 wins, 153 podiums and 78 pole positions, in order to join Ferrari on a multi-year deal.
Lewis Hamilton revels in ‘unique’ Ferrari experience
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher
And the seven-time World Champion has been getting to grips with Ferrari machinery ahead of his big debut in less than a month at the Australian Grand Prix, using up his four permitted TPC [testing of previous car] days, before enjoying his first laps in Ferrari’s F1 2025 challenger – the SF-25 – at Fiorano on Wednesday.
And in Hamilton’s first interview as a Ferrari driver, posted on the team’s YouTube channel, he reflected on what it was like to drive a Ferrari F1 car for the first time, after he started his journey by getting behind the wheel of the SF-23 at Fiorano.
Hamilton has always raced in F1 with Mercedes power until now, first with McLaren from 2007-12 and then Mercedes from 2013-24, but Hamilton stressed the Ferrari was something else compared to those cars he previously drove.
“It’s nothing like the car that I had before, or the last 10, 12, 17 years,” he said.
“It’s unique in its own. And to feel the vibration of the Ferrari engine for the first time, wow! That’s what I think ultimately put the biggest smile on my face.”
Armed with the SF-25, Hamilton will look to return to the F1 title scene for the first time since 2021, and resume his hunt of that record-breaking eighth World Championship.
However, Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur, when speaking to the media, including PlanetF1.com, at the launch of the SF-25, would not be drawn into making a prediction over whether this will be a title-worthy Ferrari.
Asked for his level of confidence on that matter, he replied: “I don’t have this approach. I don’t have to be confident or not confident.
“I have to do my job. I have to push everybody to do the best and to get the best from what we have, and we will see the result in when we’ll be on track.
“But I don’t have to be confident or not. This is my point of view. It’s not the right approach. And if I am confident, it’s not about the car. I’m confident because the team is improving, that everybody did a good step, between ’23 and ’24 on every single area, on reliability, performance, operation, pit-stop, strategy, and we have to continue into this direction.”
Similarly, Vasseur did not want to make any predictions on the teams that will feature in the F1 2025 title battle, Ferrari having narrowly missed out on the Constructors’ crown last season to McLaren, while Red Bull’s Max Verstappen secured his fourth straight Drivers’ Championship.
Asked if he sees McLaren as the F1 2025 title favourites, or if he thinks Red Bull and Mercedes will pose an equal threat, Vasseur replied: “Last year, it was a very good season for F1 overall, because the first part of the season it was Red Bull [leading], then it was us, then McLaren, then Mercedes, then we came back, and it was like this all the season.
“It means that it’s very, very difficult to make a prediction on who will lead the pack this season, and if someone will lead the pack.
“We were fighting until the last corner of the season with McLaren. We have to build up the 2025 season on this one, on 2024, but we won’t change the approach because we did well or not, the last 12 or so races of ’24.
“We have to push, to continue to develop the car, to continue to improve in every single pillar of the performance into the team, in every single department. And the approach is this one, and the mood is a good one.”