Lewis Hamilton’s first Ferrari under threat with emergency ‘Plan B’ uncovered

Ferrari are prepared to move Lewis Hamilton’s test debut away from Fiorano in the event of potential adverse weather conditions this week, it has been claimed.

Hamilton’s preparations for the F1 2025 season are underway after he made his first public appearance at the team’s Maranello factory on Monday.

Ferrari to move Lewis Hamilton’s first test away from Fiorano?

The seven-time World Champion met with team principal Fred Vasseur and chief executive Benedetto Vigna – as well as Piero Ferrari, the only living son of legendary founder Enzo – on his first official day as a Ferrari driver.

The 40-year-old also drove the team’s simulator for the first time and linked up with his new engineers, including race engineer Riccardo Adami, who previously worked with Hamilton’s predecessors Carlos Sainz and Sebastian Vettel.

Hamilton is expected to make his first on-track appearance for Ferrari at the team’s Fiorano test track on Wednesday behind the wheel of the F1-75 car of 2022.

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Ferrari have traditionally held a so-called ‘wake-up test’ at Fiorano in January, targeted at getting team and drivers back up to speed ahead of official pre-season running.

However, the threat of poor weather conditions has forced Ferrari to strike up a ‘Plan B’ for Hamilton’s first outing, with the team reportedly prepared to postpone the test or move it to a different venue.

At the time of writing, light rain and light winds are predicted in the Maranello region of Italy on Wednesday with a peak temperature of eight degrees Celsius.

A recent report by respected Italian publication Auto Racer claimed that Ferrari could move the test to Mugello or Imola.

Mugello famously hosted the Tuscan Grand Prix in a one-off event during the pandemic-affected 2020 season to mark Ferrari’s 1,000th F1 race, with Hamilton winning from pole position at the high-speed track.

Imola, meanwhile, is the current home of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, with the legendary circuit remaining on the calendar since its long-awaited return in 2020, a race won by Hamilton as he closed in on equalling Michael Schumacher’s record of seven titles.

Hamilton issued a short statement to mark his first day as a Ferrari driver, describing his arrival as a “new chapter” in the team’s history.

He said: “There are some days that you know you’ll remember forever and today, my first as a Scuderia Ferrari HP driver, is one of those days.

“I’ve been lucky enough to have achieved things in my career I never thought possible, but part of me has always held on to that dream of racing in red.

“I couldn’t be happier to realise that dream today.

“I’m incredibly grateful to John Elkann, Benedetto Vigna, Fred Vasseur and everyone at Ferrari for their trust in me and making me part of this family.

“I’m so excited to start this new era and to meet and work with a hugely talented and inspiring group of people.

“I’m dedicated to bringing everything I have to deliver for the team, the wider organisation and the fans.

“Today we start a new chapter in the history of this iconic team, and I can’t wait to see what story we will write together.”

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Hamilton is set for a packed winter schedule ahead of his first season as a Ferrari driver, with his introductory test at Fiorano expected to be followed by another private run at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, the site of F1’s Spanish Grand Prix, next week.

It means Hamilton is likely to have completed 1,000 kilometres over four separate test days – the maximum allowed for a full-time driver under the sport’s revised Testing of Previous Car [TPC] rules for F1 2025 – before the launch of Ferrari’s new car on February 19.

The launch of the 2025 chassis – codenamed Project 677 – will come one day after F1’s first-ever season-launch event attended by all 10 teams in London, with Hamilton and team-mate Charles Leclerc set to drive the car in a shakedown following a short presentation.

Hamilton and Leclerc will then head to Bahrain for F1’s official pre-season test between February 26-28 before returning to Italy for an event in Milan organised by Ferrari and new sponsor Unicredit in early March.

The F1 2025 season will get underway with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 16.

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