Lewis Hamilton finished fifth-fastest in his first preseason testing session with Ferrari, as Andrea Kimi Antonelli, his replacement at Mercedes, set the fastest time.
The 18-year-old Italian rookie led the pack of 10 drivers during Wednesday morning’s session, completing a joint-best 78 laps. Liam Lawson was just 0.132 seconds behind Antonelli despite a spin during his run. Hamilton, driving the new Ferrari SF-25, was 0.406 seconds off the top spot, completing 70 laps in total. It’s important to note that times during testing are often not reflective of true car or driver performance due to varying strategies.
The 40-year-old British driver made the move from Mercedes to Ferrari this season after 12 years and six world titles with the Silver Arrows. As Hamilton emerged from the garage in the red No. 44 car at the Bahrain circuit, F1’s social media account posted: “Lewis Hamilton. Ferrari driver,” along with a heart emoji.
Hamilton joined Ferrari last month and will race alongside Charles Leclerc in the 2025 season. Leclerc has been with the team since 2019.
During preseason testing, each team is only permitted to have one car on the track at a time. In the Wednesday morning session, Hamilton was joined by Liam Lawson, who is partnering with Max Verstappen at Red Bull this season, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, and two-time champion Fernando Alonso, who now drives for Aston Martin.
Two factors could make preseason testing less reliable for predicting the teams’ race pace this year.
Firstly, the weather in Bahrain on Wednesday has been windy and cooler than usual, unlike the typical conditions seen during an F1 race weekend.
Secondly, Bahrain is not hosting the season opener this year, as it did last season. Instead, the first race will take place at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 16.
