Lewis Hamilton has upped the pace of his Ferrari testing programme, and it showed on Wednesday when he crashed at Barcelona as he prepared for his first Formula 1 season as a Scuderia driver, with a contract rumoured to be worth £50m per year.

His first Ferrari F1 crash is understood to be minor by racing standards, with Hamilton unhurt and the car repairable, suggesting that he and new team-mate Charles Leclerc won’t lose too much time from their on-track schedule.

Ferrari has booked the Barcelona circuit for three days of testing with its 2023 car between Tuesday and Thursday, which comes a week after Hamilton’s first run in the two-year-old machine at the team’s Fiorano test track.

Fans clustered around the Ferrari factory as Hamilton arrived for the first time on January 20, and their patience in the rain was rewarded as he signed autographs and posed for photographs, describing the prospect of racing in red as “realising a dream”.

Stepping into a new era 👊

Lewis Hamilton takes his first lap in a Ferrari! pic.twitter.com/LCOws2haSn

— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) January 22, 2025

The tifosi were back in force two days later to witness Hamilton’s first laps, which appeared to be just as overwhelming for the seven-time world champion. “Driving a Scuderia Ferrari car for the first time this morning was one of the best feelings of my life,” said Hamilton. “When I started the car up and drove through that garage door, I had the biggest smile on my face. It reminded me of the very first time I tested a Formula 1 car, it was such an exciting and special moment.

“I already knew from the outside how passionate the Ferrari family is, from everyone in the team to the tifosi! But to now witness it firsthand as a Ferrari driver has been awe-inspiring. That passion runs through their veins and you can’t help but be energised by it. I’m so grateful for the love I have felt from everyone in Maranello this week, we have a lot of work to do but I can’t wait to get started.”

Ferrari hopes are high that Hamilton and Leclerc can form a dream team to put the Scuderia back into championship contention once more. Just as compelling should be the battle between the team-mates: two of F1’s greatest talents with a reputation for fighting hard but fair.

Leclerc is looking for a first world title, while Hamilton’s whirlwind weeks of preparation are with a view set him on course to add to his tally of victories and give him the chance of a record-breaking eighth world championship. But it won’t be easy as he gets to grips with a new set-up following 12 years and six world championships with Mercedes.

 

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Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur has spoken of a hectic start to the year, with the team working flat-out to finish the 2025 car, while also making Hamilton familiar with the team. “It’s always a challenge, starting from the beginning of January until the launch of the season on 18 Feb in London,” said Vasseur at the end of last year. “It means it’s critical that you have only six weeks, it’s not easy. But I think [Hamilton’s] also coming with his own experience. He’s not the rookie of the year – so it means that I’m not worried at all about this.”

Expectations are high amid the rumours of a £50m-per-year contract — which could be more than doubled by bonuses if Hamilton and new team-mate Charles Leclerc can win the constructors’ championship for the Scuderia.

In addition to a lucrative deal and a fresh opportunity after recent struggles at Mercedes, Hamilton’s arrival at Ferrari reunites him with Vasseur, who steered the driver through part of his junior career: Hamilton won the 2005 Euro Formula 3 championship with Vasseur’s ASM team, and remained under his wing in 2006 when he won the GP2 title driving for ART Grand Prix, which was headed by Vasseur.

The move also completes a vision he outlined a decade ago to former chief communications officer of McLaren and now Motor Sport columnist Matt Bishop. “What I’d really like to do, one, day, is drive for Ferrari,” said Hamilton, in a conversation recounted by Bishop. “That would be a great way to end my F1 career, wouldn’t it? To win championships for McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari?”

If there was any doubt that he was destined to drive in red, then consider that his hero Ayrton Senna intended to end his career driving for Ferrari, and that Hamilton grew up watching Michael Schumacher dominate for the team.

“I think for every driver growing up, watching history, watching Michael Schumacher, in his prime…I think all of us sit in our garage and see the screen pop up and you see the driver in the red car, and you wonder what it’d be like to be sat in the red car,” he said last year.

“And you go to the Italian Grand Prix, and we see the sea of red Ferrari fans, and you can only stand in awe of that… It’s a team that’s not had huge success since Michael’s day, or since 2007. But I see it as a huge challenge.

“Without a doubt, even as a kid, I used to play Grand Prix 2 as Michael in that car. So, it’s definitely a dream and one I’m really excited about.”

Under F1’s testing of previous cars (TPC) rules, Ferrari is only allowed 1000km (621 miles) of testing in recent machines with its current drivers — for a maximum of four days. That allowance will be used up in Barcelona but Hamilton’s induction process will continue on February 4 and 5 when he and Leclerc take part in a Pirelli test to help the company develop tyres for 2026, when the cars will be built to a new set of regulations.

He’ll be in a ‘mule car’, modified to better replicate the 2026 spec, so won’t learn much from driving itself, but should become more familiar with Ferrari’s processes ahead of pre-season testing at the end of February when he’ll get behind the wheel of this year’s car for the first time.

“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,” Hamilton wrote in an Instagram caption below an image of him standing next to a Ferrari F40 outside Enzo Ferrari’s house. “I couldn’t be happier to realise that dream today.

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

The story starts now. We run through all the information about this seismic F1 move below.

Lewis Hamilton’s first visit to Ferrari

Hamilton arrived at Ferrari on January 20 for a week of preparation; his first visit as a factory driver, and a month before the 2025 car is revealed.

He met colleagues, had a seat fitting and spent time in the simulator before getting behind the wheel of a 2023 Ferrari F1 car on Wednesday.

The visit also saw the first shots of Hamilton in his red Ferrari racesuit, as well as the first glimpse of his yellow helmet that’s new for 2025.

There will be little time to reflect on the significance, though: as development of this year’s car continues at pace, Hamilton will have to quickly become accustomed to new way of working, new car procedures and a new steering wheel with multiple complex controls to master ahead of pre-season testing at the end of February.

How much is Hamilton’s Ferrari contract worth?

Contract values are rarely more than speculation, but estimates of a £50m base salary don’t appear to be far-fetched given Hamilton’s record, his pace, and his commercial appeal. It’s also similar to Max Verstappen’s estimated salary.

As ever, F1 prize money can more than double a driver’s wage thanks to win bonuses and, most lucrative of all, bonuses for the team winning, or finishing in the top three of the constructors’ championship.

A successful season with Ferrari could see Hamilton take home more than £100m, and that could be repeated for several years: he’s on a “multi-year” contract, which is understood to have a minimum term of two years, with the option to extend for at least a further year.

Team-mate Charles Leclerc also signed a “multi-year” contract extension at Ferrari last year, so it’s likely he will remain at the team with Hamilton for the duration of the Brit’s Scuderia stay.

Can Hamilton win at Ferrari?

For this season at least, Hamilton looks to have a better chance of winning F1 races and competing for the world championship than either of Mercedes’ drivers.

Last year, Ferrari had five grand prix wins to Mercedes; four, but more often than not looked to have the faster car of the two teams — which explains its end-of-year championship points total of 652 points compared with Mercedes’ 468.

Until the cars hit the track for pre-season testing, last year’s performances are the best indicators we have of how they are likely to perform in 2025. Most teams are using their 2024 cars as the basis for this year’s entries, which leaves more resources to work on the 2026 car that has to be built to new chassis and engine regulations.

However, Ferrari has announced that its 2025 car will be 95% new, which could confer a crucial advantage on Hamilton and Leclerc — as long as it’s a step ion the right direction. A championship run looks like a feasible target.

As for 2026 and beyond, it’s anybody’s guess at the moment. The last time new engine regulations were introduced, Mercedes emerged with a huge advantage and went on to win seven championships in succession. New chassis rules from 2022 saw Red Bull emerge as a dominant force.

If Ferrari can come to the grid with a decisive advantage, then we could see Hamilton and Leclerc fighting for the championship in 2026. But if there’s another engine with more power and another chassis that generates more grip, then Hamilton could once again be left a spectator in the title race.

Why did Lewis Hamilton leave Mercedes?

Hamilton and Mercedes have enjoyed unprecedented success together, putting together one of F1’s greatest winning runs from the introduction of the hybrid engine era from 2014.

However, following the Abu Dhabi 2021 controversy which allowed Max Verstappen to claim the drivers’ title at the death, Hamilton and Mercedes simply haven’t been able to reach the same competitive heights.

Though largely reliable, the 2022 and ’23 Mercedes cars in the new ground-effect era were largely off the pace, though Hamilton has collected a large number of podiums and almost took second off Red Bull‘s second driver Sergio Perez in 2023, despite the Mexican driving a far superior car.

Performance improved at some races in 2024, with two wins for Hamilton, but McLaren had improved even more, so Mercedes remained fourth in the championship. At weekends where the car was just uncompetitive, Hamilton’s exasperation was evident. But by then, his mind had been made up.

“An opportunity came up in the new year and I decided to take it,” said Hamilton as he spoke about the deal last year. “It was obviously the hardest decision that I think I’ve ever had to make. I’ve been with Mercedes for, I think it’s like 26 years they’ve supported me, and we’ve had an absolutely incredible journey together. We’ve created history within the sport, and it’s something I take a lot of pride in and I’m very proud of what we’ve achieved.

“But I think ultimately I’m writing my story and I felt like it was time to start a new chapter.”

The move caught out Toto Wolff, although the Mercedes team principal confessed to an element of relief that the partnership was ending amicably. “I like the situation,” he said ina. Mercedes-produced all-access book Inside Mercedes F1: Life in the Fast Lane. “It helps us because it avoids the moment where we need to tell the sport’s most iconic driver that we want to stop…We’re in a sport where cognitive sharpness is extremely important, and I believe everyone has a shelf life.”

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc – will Ferrari’s new F1 line-up work together?

Since his Ferrari debut in 2019, the charismatic Charles Leclerc has established himself as No1 driver at Ferrari – Hamilton’s arrival is the first time this position will be properly challenged.

Though Sebastian Vettel was the nominal No1 when Leclerc first drove for the Scuderia, the young Monégasque plainly outpaced his four-time world champion team-mate from the off.

After a few near-misses, Leclerc took a famous pair of wins at Spa and Monza in 2019, the second coming controversially after he was supposed to give Vettel a tow in qualifying but didn’t, claiming pole and the race victory for himself instead.

Ferrari was largely powerless to stop Leclerc, because he was quite simply the faster driver – to do so would have been limiting itself.

Will the same happen with Hamilton? Sainz has never looked to truly challenge the speed of Leclerc, but Hamilton could easily measure up to the tifosi favourite.

On the other hand, if Leclerc asserts his supremacy, what will happen to the Ferrari team atmosphere? And will Hamilton stick around?

Mark Hughes has outlined Hamilton’s 2024 struggles with the Mercedes, detailing how it “destroyed” his feeling for the car, so his pace couldn’t shine. A similar issue with the Ferrari could hamper his performance against Leclerc, and then the seven-time champion could find himself under the spotlight.

“I wonder what happens if the car doesn’t suit him because at Ferrari it doesn’t take long for them to turn on you,” said British designer John Barnard, who made a blockbuster move to Ferrari at the end of 1986. In a Motor Sport interview, he went on: “It’s hard to explain but the Italian media puts pressure on the team, week in week out, and that’s tough to deal with.”

Lewis Hamilton’s F1 record at Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton got off to a steady if unspectacular start when getting his feet under the table as Michael Schumacher‘s replacement at Mercedes in 2013.

This was largely due to the car which, much like Mercedes today, was one of the faster best-of-rest cars behind the dominant Red Bull.

The Brit put in a masterclass though at the Hungaroring, one of his favourite circuits, to claim a debut Silver Arrows win before the floodgates opened in 2014.

Mercedes aced the new hybrid turbo era with its 2014 car, with Hamilton winning out in fierce battles with team-mate Nico Rosberg to claim the title that year and in ’15, before the German succeeded in 2016.

Hamilton then took another four consecutive titles – two in intense scraps with Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.

His reign ended famously in 2021 when a season-long duel with Max Verstappen came down to the wire at the season finale in Abu Dhabi. Hamilton looked on course for victory and the title. A safety car in the closing laps looked to have secured it: there wasn’t time to restart the race.

Verstappen had the chance to fit fresh tyres without losing position — Hamilton didn’t. So when race director Michael Masi dispensed with precedent to bring the safety car in early and ensure one final racing lap, the Red Bull driver swept past Hamilton and won the championship on a wave of controversy that hasn’t abated four years later.

Since then, Mercedes has not had a championship challenger under new ground effect regulations that were introduced in 2022. Its ‘size zero’ sidepod concept flopped and Hamilton went two seasons without a win. That was rectified this year, but he still didn’t gel with the car, falling beuind team-mate George Russell in the championship standings.

Lewis Hamilton career stats at Mercedes 

Lewis Hamilton’s contract meetings with Ferrari

With both names holding such prestige and a winning history, it’s perhaps no surprise that Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari have been linked before.

The seven-time world champion is personal friends with John Elkann, Ferrari’s chairman, who has been set on luring the seven-time world champion for years.

In 2023 when rumours of a potential agreement spread ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix in May, leading to a press conference filled with speculation. Hamilton himself downplayed the rumours, assuring press that his future was with Mercedes. When Charles Leclerc was asked about what he’d look for in a future Ferrari team-mate, he began with “Hello Lewis…”

Ahead of his latest contract extension with Mercedes, which would have kept Hamilton at Brackley until at least 2025, Ferrari revealed that it had again tried to negotiate terms with Hamilton ahead of the 2024 campaign but had been unsuccessful.

Nevertheless, after years of trying, the Scuderia finally got its man.

Lewis Hamilton’s relationship with Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur

Hamilton’s move to Ferrari will complete a reunion 20 years in the making with current team boss Fred Vasseur, who helped the Briton get his first F1 chance back in 2007.

Racing for ART with Vasseur at the helm, Hamilton won back-to-back championships in both Formula 3 (2005) and GP2 (2006) before making a spectacular F1 debut for McLaren in F1.

The pair have remained extremely close ever since, with Vasseur being promoted into a senior role at Renault in 2016 before moving onto Sauber and now Ferrari.

“I talk to him at every GP, he raced for me 20 years ago and we are still close,” Vasseur told Italy’s Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper. “Clearly, if they [the media] see us together in the paddock, there’s a lot of fuss, but the relationship has remained.”