Lewis Hamilton said initial impressions of the Ferrari SF-25 are “the most positive” he’s had in a long time compared to previous years of Formula 1 testing.
The last three seasons with Mercedes amid the current ground effect rule cycle had seen Hamilton endure temperamental and unconvincing F1 challengers, limiting him to just three wins in that time.
Year-on-year, Hamilton knew he and Mercedes had a mountain to climb after initial running in F1 testing, no doubt a motivator in his switch to Ferrari.
Since moving to Ferrari, a broad smile has featured on Hamilton’s face and that hasn’t been wiped after running significant mileage in the SF-24 through the first two days of testing.
Speaking to select media, including Motorsport Week, ahead of his final pre-season test run, Hamilton said, “Over the last four years or so, I can’t judge [the cars] too much and take too much on my first outlook.
“I mean, for me, I definitely think in the past, years before that, taking the previous generation car was much easier, I think, to know where you stood quite early on with that kind of feeling.”
“I would say this is the most positive feeling that I’ve had in a long time.”
Hamilton’s positivity was no doubt encouraged on Thursday when he set the fastest time in the morning session of testing, which remained the second-quickest effort through the conclusion of that day’s running.
Hamilton ‘inspired’ by Ferrari
Like his 19 F1 competitors, Hamilton would like more than just a day-and-a-half to test the SF-25 before the season gets underway properly on March 14 for the Australian Grand Prix weekend.
Hamilton acknowledged that he has “built a really good foundation” with his new team, but admits there’s more to come from his Ferrari partnership.
“Personally, I like to just jump in deep and figure it out,” he said.
“That’s what we’ve been doing. We’ve gone through the processes and tried to really… I feel like, in this period of time, we’ve built a really good foundation.
“But, everyone knows these guys out there are really, really quick, really competitive.
“It looks very, very close. We might not know until [race week] where we stand, but we know that we’ve got work to do.
“And everyone is just heads down and I’ve been really inspired and really encouraged by it.
“My colleagues, just how… from a set of leaders, how hardworking everyone is. Getting to know everyone in the garage, the night shift crew, just their processes and how they like to work.”
READ MORE – Lewis Hamilton ‘slowly bonding’ with Ferrari 2025 F1 car
