Source: REUTERS/HAMAD I MOHAMMED
[Saba Sports News] After his first test drive of Ferrari’s SF-25 car, Hamilton requested some minor adjustments to be made to the car. These changes are expected to be completed before the start of the pre-season test in Bahrain on February 26. During testing at Fiorano, Hamilton and teammate Charles Leclerc each drove the SF-25 for about 30 laps. Although Hamilton’s fastest lap was about 0.8 seconds slower than Leclerc’s, this difference was mainly due to them running different test programs. Leclerc, who has been with Ferrari for many years, can push the car to its limits, while Hamilton focused more on adapting to the functions and systems of the new car. This is after all his first change of team and car since moving from McLaren to Mercedes in 2013. At the second Pirelli tire test in Barcelona prior to this, Ferrari engineers had already done a lot of work based on Hamilton’s requirements. However, Hamilton crashed during the test, possibly due to unfamiliarity with the Ferrari engine and track bumps. Despite this, Hamilton said that this test gave him a better understanding of the car’s limits and left him excited.