The air of determination around Lewis Hamilton is certainly familiar but there is now also a sense of expectation, an aura radiating through the murky gloom of an empty enormo-drome in the desert. Hamilton has always been a star but, entering his 19th Formula One season with a new start at Ferrari, he is now burning brightly.
In the chill wind of an unseasonably cold Bahrain for pre-season testing, Hamilton is a man anew as he takes on a challenge with the Scuderia, reinvigorated as perhaps he has not been since last he struck out on his own course when leaving McLaren for Mercedes in 2013.
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He was the centre of attention from the moment he emerged from Ferrari’s hospitality area before climbing into the new SF25 in front of the horde of photographers who had gathered early, encamped outside his garage. Hamilton looked relaxed and at ease with his new helmet, in the bright Modena yellow of Ferrari, setting off the distinctive overalls of rosso corsa.
Indeed, so at home has Hamilton made himself and so familiar he already looks interacting with his Ferrari teammates in Bahrain it seems hard to imagine that for so long he has been clad in Mercedes silver. It illustrates how quickly the world of F1 turns and how adept Hamilton is at assimilating and accommodating change.
Previously there was at least some continuity, but this is the first time in his career he has not driven with a Mercedes engine and that too was part of the learning process as he pounded round the Sakhir circuit, coming to terms with how the new horses hum.
Hamilton, who usually dislikes testing, displayed no such lack of enthusiasm here. He has long not wanted to go out on the first run but was front and centre for the opening session. Just as well, as the second stint was halted for an hour and five minutes due to a power outage at the circuit and subsequently extended, with the times topped by McLaren’s Lando Norris.
With it being the first serious run of the season, for much of the opening session the teams are assessing initial data from the car, not least in whether real life is living up to the computer and wind tunnel simulations. To that end, Hamilton and the majority of teams ran with the aero rake device early on, the ungainly collection of metal spars which sits, like an angry expressionist Meccano kit, behind the front wheels to assess the airflow.
Once it was removed, however, the Ferrari cut quite a dash against the bland backdrop in Bahrain. The car sports a white streak across the engine cover which may irk the purists but it has elegant lines and from trackside it looked quick, even in these tentative steps.
Hamilton duly nailed down 70 trouble-free laps and was fifth fastest in a session headed by the driver who replaced him at Mercedes, the rookie Italian Andrea Kimi Antonelli, although timings at this stage are all but meaningless. There was a minor run wide toward the end at turn four, likely coming as the seven-time champion began to push his new ride and get a feel for where its limits lie.
Cautious optimism was his mood afterwards. “Everything feels good,” he said. “There’s more to do over the next few days to get through our programme and understand the car to the best of our ability, but right now I’m looking forward to getting out there again tomorrow.”
These are then still early days at Ferrari but alongside the serious faces of mechanics and engineers who have to pack an awful lot of work into three short days, there is also a palpable sense of optimistic zeal around the Scuderia. Hamilton referred to it as a “magic” possessed by the team but it is impossible not to imagine they too have not been inspired by the ardour of the seven-time champion.
He has spoken repeatedly at how motivated he is, not least by the dual challenge of a new team and a steely eyed determination to win the championship with them. It is notable that he is framing it not as securing his record-breaking eighth title but rather as one of taking Ferrari’s first drivers’ championship since 2007. It is significant that Hamilton has the team goal as a central target and this will not have gone unnoticed at the Scuderia.
Intriguingly, Hamilton’s car too had caught the eye, not least of Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, whose cars have dominated the sport since the regulation changes of 2022. “Into this cycle of regulations it’s clear the cars have converged and they look very very similar,” he said. “Ferrari is the standout as probably being a differentiator.”
It is still too early to tell whether ploughing a singular furrow will pay off but they do already have Hamilton, who has proved to be an effective differentiator himself and who is now champing at the bit to be given the tools to get the job done. Two more days of putting in the laps in the desert then and he at least will have a good idea if Ferrari has risen to match the boundless verve with which he has embraced his new task.
