SAKHIR, Bahrain — Lewis Hamilton has started Formula One pre-season testing for Ferrari. The 40-year-old British driver announced last year was leaving Mercedes to join Ferrari after spending 11 years and winning six of his seven world titles with the Silver Arrows.

Lewis Hamilton ended his full testing debut for Ferrari in fifth as Formula One’s pre-season running fired up in Bahrain. Hamilton’s transfer from Mercedes to Ferrari is the major talking point prior to the opening round of the season in Melbourne on March 16.

The Formula 1 driver market was especially active in 2024, meaning Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari is one of 10 changes as half of the seats on the grid are occupied by someone different this term

Ferrari’s 2025 Formula One driver lineup commands attention.

The lap times from the first test session of the 2025 Formula 1 season have been collected. On Wednesday morning, all eyes were fixated on the Bahrain International Circuit as testing got underway in front of the TV cameras.

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Lewis Hamilton will have a first impression of how his Ferrari rates against the rest when Formula One starts three days of testing in Bahrain on Wednesday with a new crop of cars and drivers.

Hamilton was on track during the morning session on day one of 2025 pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit, with Charles Leclerc set to take over in the afternoon. Surprisingly, 18-year-old Italian Kimi Antonelli topped the session, with Hamilton's Mercedes replacement beating his seven-time world champion predecessor.

With F1’s current regulations now in their fourth year, the performance gaps that gave front-runners comfortable advantages are shrinking fast. Teams that were once struggling to keep pace have had enough time with these cars to catch up on the learning curve. (See: Ferrari and McLaren’s surge last year .)

Lewis Hamilton will have a first impression of how his Ferrari rates against the rest when Formula One starts three days of testing in Bahrain on Wednesday with a new crop of cars and drivers. The seven times world champion,

Lewis Hamilton was fifth-fastest in his first session of preseason testing with Ferrari as his replacement at Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, posted the fastest time.