Ferrari plans two private testing sessions for Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton has been a Ferrari driver since January 1, but the seven-time world champion's first appearance in red is still awaited. To facilitate the integration of its star recruit and prepare for the coming season, the Scuderia has defined a private testing program which will be divided into two stages, and whose dates remain flexible in order to adapt to the weather forecasts.

If the tests are strictly supervised, and prohibited with the single-seaters of a current season outside the two days of promotional filming, the Formula 1 regulations authorize the teams to run cars more than two years old within the framework of a TPC (Testing of Previous Cars) program.

Now more supervised, these tests are from this year limited to 20 days without mileage to be respected for drivers without Grand Prix experience, while for regular drivers, a ceiling of 1000 km over four days has been established.

This is the time Lewis Hamilton will have to get to know his new team, something he was unable to do during the end of last season tests in Abu Dhabi since he was still under contract with Mercedes.

These four days will allow the Briton to familiarize himself with the driving position or the systems on board, and to establish essential working relationships with his engineers, before the official presentation planned by Ferrari on February 19. The three days of winter testing will then take place in Bahrain, from February 26 to 28.

By allowing itself a little flexibility, the Maranello team hopes to benefit from favorable track conditions, first at Fiorano around January 20 and 21, then at the end of the month on the Barcelona circuit, according to information from the Italian editorial staff of Motorsport.com. For this run in Spain, Ferrari would have defined a four-day window allowing it to subsequently choose the moment when the temperatures will be the mildest.

It is still unknown whether the Scuderia will use the F1-75 from the 2022 season or the SF-23 from the 2023 campaign for these tests, which could in any case take place with a single-seater meeting the current regulatory cycle. ground effect F1 cars.

With Roberto Chinchero