Ferrari has tried to maintain a level of privacy around Lewis Hamilton’s winter testing sessions, but with the high level of anticipation surrounding his move, keeping things under wraps has proven to be a difficult task.
Karun Chandhok described the buzz around Hamilton as “unreal,” even though the 2025 season is still weeks away. This attention is undoubtedly great news for F1’s commercial rights holders, Liberty Media, but Ferrari has been keen to maintain focus. Team principal Fred Vasseur, in particular, has sought to manage the fanfare surrounding Hamilton’s arrival at Maranello, concerned that it could become a distraction.
However, the French manager was unable to prevent thousands of fans from attending the British driver’s first test session a month ago. While the test in Barcelona, which included one run in the 2023 car and another in a modified 2024 Ferrari for Pirelli tire testing, saw no spectators, Hamilton’s debut in Maranello drew considerable crowds. Fortunately for Ferrari, Hamilton’s test was not without incident: on the first day, the superstar crashed, disrupting Charles Leclerc’s planned runs. The team downplayed the incident, and due to the lack of external witnesses, they were able to control the narrative surrounding the crash.
Next week, all 10 F1 teams will converge on Bahrain for the official pre-season testing, where secrecy will no longer be possible. Lap times and onboard footage will become publicly available, marking a new phase in the preparations for the season ahead.
Ferrari figures are urging patience as speculation grows over Hamilton’s lap times. Following Ferrari’s SF-25 shakedown at Fiorano, which was limited to 200km of running as per the rules, fans have been eager to analyze the performance of the car. After Charles Leclerc’s morning outing, Hamilton took his turn in the afternoon, but Ferrari has not released any times from the test. The team is likely to downplay the significance of the session, focusing instead on testing car functionality rather than performance.
Nevertheless, many are closely analyzing the limited data and drawing conclusions. Some are even calling Hamilton’s performance a ‘miracle,’ fueling further speculation. However, insiders at Ferrari are urging caution, advising the Tifosi to wait until next week when things will “really get serious” in Bahrain. At that point, the drivers will take on race simulations and qualifying runs, though it’s expected that some teams will be deliberately sandbagging their true performance.
In terms of the gap between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc during the test, one of the most critical objectives for Hamilton before the season begins will be adjusting to his new team. After 12 years with Mercedes, Hamilton faces the challenge of resetting his approach to working with Ferrari’s engineers. The communication style at Ferrari, he says, is “completely” different from what he was used to at Mercedes, but the Briton is embracing the change. His engineer, Riccardo Adami, has previous experience working with both Carlos Sainz and Sebastian Vettel.
Some reports claim to have obtained Ferrari’s lap time data from the Fiorano shakedown. According to these sources, Charles Leclerc was within hundredths of the all-time lap record at Fiorano, suggesting that he was pushing the car hard. Hamilton, however, was reportedly eight-tenths slower than Charles Leclerc, which has led to speculation about the difference in performance. If the figures are accurate, it would imply that Leclerc’s speed was the real standout, but other observers have reported varying data.
