Ferrari has not set a specific date for Lewis Hamilton’s first test behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car in January.
The boss of the Italian team, Frédéric Vasseur, has revealed that the Italian team’s 2025 car will be launched at Maranello on February 19 (read here), the day after all the teams will have presented their 2025 liveries at the ‘O2 Arena in London.
"In January," he replied, indicating that it will be behind the wheel of an “old car” which will be that of 2022 and not 2023.
“It will certainly depend on the weather – January is not an easy month. The available window is not very wide because we have to be ready for the car presentation which will take place on February 19.”
Vasseur said Hamilton’s testing debut will be a low-key affair.
“As I said we don’t want to focus on the show. The launch of the car will be enough and then we will have to focus on the season.”
“Lewis will only have six weeks at his disposal, from the beginning of January until the presentation of the car, but he is a driver with a lot of experience at his disposal and for that reason I am not worried. Today , pilots have the enormous advantage of the simulator.”
“He will be able to do a racing simulation and a qualifying simulation in the simulator and be fully prepared with the steering wheel and all the particularities of the car. But I’m not worried about that and it’s not the biggest challenge .”
“But he comes with his own experience. He’s not the rookie of the year, so I’m not worried about that at all, and also because of the continuity of the previous regulations, which means that for We have a certain reference.”
“The challenge is, if you imagine we go to Bahrain and we have a sandstorm like a few years ago, then it’s difficult, but it’s difficult for everyone on the grid. We know that we only have three days of testing there. That’s how it is.”
Vasseur has spoken for the first time about the discussions he had with Hamilton last winter, which led to him joining Ferrari.
“In 2023, we had won more races than Mercedes, so it was not difficult to convince him that Ferrari would be a good project. He had in mind the project of driving for Ferrari for at least 22 or 23 years, because we in discussions in 2004. It wasn’t too difficult.”
“Sometimes it’s also a question of coincidence or the alignment of all the planets, whether he’s on the market, whether Ferrari has a seat available, etc. Contact was easy. We started talking a long time ago. was a year old and it wasn’t hard to convince him.”
Much has been made of Hamilton’s poor final season with Mercedes in 2024, during which he often looked demoralized, unmotivated and lacking in confidence.
"I feel like Lewis hasn’t always been very happy this year," Vasseur said. “He was probably already a little focused on the future.”
“But I am really convinced that he will be in great form, as he has shown in the last races. In both Abu Dhabi and Las Vegas, he was able to perform well, so I am not worried. “
“The cars and the rules haven’t changed and a multiple world champion is coming. It’s a good season for us, but we’re all a little tired.”
Vasseur also said he believed Hamilton’s arrival would give Charles Leclerc a boost.
“I am happy with what Charles has done this year, he has improved a lot but he can still improve. He is fast and he knows it, it is in race management that he can do even more. But he is on the right track.”
“I’m sure he has great respect for Lewis and will be able to absorb all the good from the situation like a sponge.”
As for the duo they will form, the Frenchman is not worried.
“Charles and Lewis, I’m not particularly worried about it. They have a huge mutual respect, they know each other, they’ve been talking about it for months now.”
“It’s much better to fight for first and third place or second and third place than to fight for 19th and 20th place. It’s a good thing for a team to have this kind of discussion and approach and I am truly convinced that the team’s performance comes from the emulation between the two drivers.”
As for whether Vasseur would have any advice for Hamilton before he officially becomes a Ferrari driver, the 56-year-old smiled: “He doesn’t need my advice.”
“I might just tell him not to eat too much pasta.”
“I’m not sure we should copy and paste what he did with Mercedes. The environment worked very well at the beginning, a little less so at the end.”
“We have to find the best way to deal with Lewis. I know him quite well, but I don’t want to at all copy and paste what he has done in the past.”
Ferrari lost the constructors’ championship to McLaren by 14 points in the final race of 2024 and Vasseur said he expected next season to be another close fight between the top four teams, including Red Bull and Mercedes.
“What we need to do to win next year is a matter of details. We have made good improvements in all areas, but we are still 14 points short of the championship. That’s a lot and almost nothing, it’s an abandonment, a racing incident, a strategic decision.”
“We are talking about the details of each pillar. Every mistake, every decision will be a huge decision. I am sure that next year the championship will also be close and we cannot let a single point slip away.”
