First Details REVEALED Of Hamilton's First Ferrari Drive!

As Lewis Hamilton turns 40 years old, the preparations for his first Ferrari test are in full flow. Fans around the world are desperate to see him behind the wheel of an iconic Rosso Corsa-painted F1 car. Well, the Scuderia have finally given a date and details of what that first run-out will look like. As we look ahead to Hamilton's first Ferrari test, Toto Wolff has spoken about how he's glad that Hamilton made the decision to leave. All of that and more coming in today's video. Lewis Hamilton celebrates his landmark 40th birthday on Tuesday the 8th of January, seven days into a year that is set to prove one of the most significant and fascinating of his whole career. That's Lewis Hamilton, the Ferrari driver now, of course, with January 1st having formally marked a career transition from Mercedes Silver to Ferrari Red for Formula 1's most famous and successful driver. At 40 years old, most athletes would be thinking of a comfy retirement. Maybe make some bad property investments, or look for a job as a pundit. Or do what Carlos Sainz's dad has done and start racing in one of the most physically demanding races in the world just for fun. Though I'm not sure that the Dakar Rally has the glamour to attract Hamilton. Rather than turning his hand to any of the traditional athlete retirement projects, Hamilton is making the biggest move of his career. The prospect of returning Ferrari to championship glory and reaching that record-breaking eighth world championship title is setting up the 2025 F1 season to be one of the most highly anticipated in recent memory. The pairing of Hamilton and Ferrari is going to be absolutely blockbuster, hence the interest in this first Ferrari drive and the 2025 season as a whole. That debut in Ferrari machinery is set to be in approximately two weeks' time, with the team planning to make use of the rules related to the testing of older cars. Up till last season, there was no limit on how much running was allowed with two to four-year-old cars, even for regular race drivers. However, after Max Verstappen tested Red Bull's 2022 car at Imola in June of last year, as his team tried to find a cure for the RB20's issues with kerb riding, the rules were tweaked for 2025. Red Bull had introduced issues into their car in 2023, so being able to drive the 2022 car and use it as a comparison piece to find problems was actually incredibly beneficial for the development of the current car. The reason the running of old cars was previously allowed at unlimited levels was because the benefits were seen as negligible because of how quickly F1 cars evolve, but Red Bull proved otherwise last year. Now, drivers are limited to 1,000km of running, split over a maximum of four days. It is some of that testing that Ferrari intend to make use of for Hamilton. The seven-time champion will get a maiden run on the Italian team's home Fiorano track on the 20th or 21st of January, depending on the weather. How far he'll go is still unknown, but this is likely to be more of a chance for Hamilton to get used to the team's processes and their wheel, as well as getting some time communicating with his race engineer while in the car. The Scuderia will then move on to Barcelona later this month, with the Catalan circuit booked for at least four days. This will give the squad some wiggle room in case rain throws a spanner in the works, as it will be able to run on the most favourable three days, bringing the total up to the allowed four days of testing. There is also the option of a filming day in the 2025 car which Ferrari could make use of. This would give Hamilton some more mileage, and it would be in the 2025 car. Vercer has also floated the possibility of the Briton driving in one of Pirelli's 2026 development tyre tests, the first of which takes place in Magni Cors at the end of January. For most of us, moving job to a new company or role can be difficult, and it can take time to bed in and get used to the new environment. However, team principal Fred Vercer has previously stated that he was not worried at all about Hamilton's adaptation to the Maranello-based outfit, pointing out that the record holder for world titles, Grand Prix wins, pole positions, is in fact not a rookie. We know that we have a lot of procedures to assimilate during this couple of days, but he's experienced enough to do it, the Frenchman added. We have the advantage to have the simulator, and he'll be able to do a race simulation and a qualifying simulation in the simulator, and to be fully prepared with the steering wheel and all the particularities of the car. But I'm not worried about this, and it's not the biggest challenge. Vercer will be well aware of Hamilton's dislike for simulator work, something he famously avoided at Mercedes as much as possible. But with the challenges of being in a new car at a new team, this winter it is probably something he cannot avoid. While no bespoke unveiling event for Hamilton's signing is planned, the Briton will be presented, along with the rest of the much-changed 2025 grid, at F1's big season launch event at London's O2 on February 18th, with pre-season testing in Bahrain beginning on February 26th, he'll share driving duties with Leclerc across three days with the new challenger. Hamilton will have little over a month to truly acclimatise to life and working practices at his new team. How that process has gone, and what his chances of winning that eighth World Championship are, won't be truly evident until the season opening race in Melbourne in mid-March. Before I talk about why Toto Wolff has said that he's glad that Hamilton isn't on his team anymore, if you enjoy the content we bring and want to support the channel, then make sure to check out our merch store at F1Reverse.com to get yourself some sweet F1-inspired gear. Thanks a lot! So let's take a look at Hamilton's future and the Mercedes team. There is no argument over Hamilton's pedigree as an F1 driver. He is the sport's most successful driver ever, that is a statistical fact. However, three tough years at Mercedes since the introduction of the ground effect cars has led some to question whether he still has the same desire he did when Mercedes had the best car in the sport. His qualifying performances in particular were put under the microscope last season, as George Russell dominated his teammate, with a record of 19-5 over Hamilton. The relationships at Mercedes soured over the final season, as his constant complaints about the car took their toll on the Mercedes team. In the end, Wolff was glad that Hamilton was on his way out at the end of the year, though perhaps not for the reason you might expect. Wolff has explained how missing out on Max Verstappen ultimately culminated in Lewis Hamilton joining Ferrari. In the mother of all domino effects, the Mercedes team principal revealed that he feared that Andrea Chimi Antonelli would seek opportunities elsewhere, as the Dutchman did a decade ago, something that led to the four-time Drivers' Championship joining Red Bull. The 52-year-old was hesitant to offer Hamilton a two-year deal in 2023, with the young Italian rapidly progressing up the single-seater ladder. Agreeing upon a one-plus-one deal with the seven-time F1 Drivers' Champion opened the door for him to leave at the end of last season, which he did. Whilst that news, when it broke almost 12 months ago, paved the way for Antonelli to step into Hamilton's seat after just one season at F2 level, having skipped F3 entirely, it nonetheless took Wolff by surprise. It was a curveball thrown at us, and it still feels weird that he's going to wear Ferrari overalls and drive the red car, the Austrian said. It's just a bit surreal. But we had this 17-year-old in the pipeline. I didn't want to miss out on him, like I did with Max back in the day. I didn't have a car for him, so that is all falling into place. And I can kind of get where he's coming from because we weren't successful. Our car was not quick enough. Certainly, he had a mega offer on the table, and every F1 driver wants to drive a Ferrari. If Wolff had been forced into making a decision over Hamilton's future, it would have been almost impossible for him to win. How can you explain to your fans, your investors, and the F1 world that you think an unproven 18-year-old is a better choice for your team than Lewis Hamilton is? At the same time, losing Antonelli to another team would have been heartbreaking for him, especially if the youngster turns out to be the driver that Wolff thinks he is. Though, I will say, the odds on him being the next Lewis Hamilton or Max Verstappen are pretty slim, even if that's what Toto wishes Kimi will be. Are you excited to see Hamilton in a Ferrari in a few weeks' time? Let me know your thoughts in the comments down below, and if you've enjoyed the video and want to catch some more F1 news in the run-up to the 2025 season, then make sure to give the video a like and subscribe to F1 Reverse. Until next time, drive safe and bye for now.