- Hamilton announced the shock switch between teams at the start of last year
- Since joining Ferrari last month, Briton has been making himself at home in Italy
- But seven-time world champion was some way off the leaders on day one
Lewis Hamilton was subject to a series of gaffes which appeared to show it might be more difficult for him to move away from his Mercedes era than it may have initially seemed.
The seven-time world champion announced that he had made the blockbuster £50million-a-year switch from his former team to Ferrari at the start of last season, but continued to drive for the British constructor for an uneven final year.
After joining his boyhood team, Hamilton has been keen to stress that he will look to challenge for a historic eighth world championship for the Prancing Horse.
Anticipation was at fever pitch when the British driver made his initial outings at Maranello, with scores of Ferrari fans eager to catch a glimpse of his first run-out in the team’s iconic colours.
But in his first public outing for the constructor at pre-season testing in Bahrain, Hamilton was well behind the pack chasing leader Lando Norris, finishing 13th-fastest on the third day.
Hamilton might also have been disappointed by the Formula One world’s challenge to adapt to his new allegiance after 12 years at Mercedes.
Lewis Hamilton’s first public outing in his Ferrari SF-25 in Bahrain was far from perfect from a broadcasting perspective
A graphic on F1 TV and Sky Sports briefly misidentified Hamilton as a Mercedes driver (right)
Mercedes staff also appeared to be spotted scrubbing their former driver’s number off some garage machinery
The driver was incorrectly tagged as a Mercedes driver in a graphic which showed on both Formula One TV and Sky Sports without commentators noticing.
Mercedes personnel were also seen removing his recognisable 44 number from some garage equipment the constructor had brought with them to Sakhir for the testing period.
Hamilton’s former team-mate George Russell also offered a note on the strangeness of his compatriot’s departure on Tuesday.
‘Naturally, it does feel different, of course,’ Russell said during testing.
‘Lewis is such a huge personality on and off the track, but I think everybody within the team is very much excited for this next chapter, really.’
Hamilton drove 70 laps in his Ferrari in the morning session, but could only coax a fastest lap of 1:31.834secs out his F-25, some way behind Norris’ 1:30.430secs.
But the driver will be keen to use pre-season testing to get to grips with his new car, and has already been making alterations to his specifications.
Former Ferrari reserve driver Oliver Bearman – who will drive for Haas this season – noted that Hamilton has altered his steering wheel.
Hamilton finished the first day of testing 13th-fastest and has been getting to grips with the car
The seven-time world champion is keen to win a historic eighth with the team he supported as a child
‘I think he built up habits with his Mercedes steering wheel,’ Bearman said. ‘So he has changed the DRS and neutral buttons on the Ferrari.’
But Sky Sports analyst Alex Brundle was one of a number of viewers excited for Hamilton to gain further experience of his car during the testing days, stressing that it is essentially ‘the first time’ in Bahrain that Hamilton has had in the SF-25 – and that there is room for progression.
‘A couple of runs around Fiorano is not going to give you a feel for it. It’s narrow, it’s bumpy and you just don’t get enough mileage. It’s going to be really interesting to see that Ferrari progress,’ Brundle said.
‘An entirely new front suspension setup for Hamilton and everything that goes with that will take all of his experience to get his head around this year.
‘It’s going to be fascinating to see an entirely motivated and energised Lewis move that car forward through these three days and then into the beginning of this season.
‘I really can’t wait.’
