Lewis Hamilton, a famous race car driver, is getting used to his new Ferrari car. He drove it during Formula One’s pre-season testing in Bahrain, a place where drivers practice before the real races start. On the second morning of testing, Hamilton had the fastest time for a while. By the end of the day, he was second overall, just 0.031 seconds slower than Carlos Sainz. Sainz is the driver Hamilton replaced at Ferrari. Sainz will drive for a different team, Williams, when the racing season begins on March 16, 2025, in Australia.
Hamilton said, “I am really enjoying the car. We’re slowly bonding, I think.” This means he’s starting to feel comfortable with the Ferrari. He shared these thoughts with TV reporters at the Sakhir circuit in Bahrain, where the testing happened.
He explained that the first day of testing was just okay—not great, but not bad either. They finished everything they planned to do. The second day was more fun because he got to work closely with his engineer (the person who helps him set up the car) and try new things. Hamilton said, “Today was a bit more of getting to explore a bit my interaction with my engineer. But so far I really enjoy driving this car.”
Hamilton is 40 years old and has won the world championship seven times. He won six of those titles with Mercedes and one with McLaren, two other racing teams. Last year, he wasn’t happy with his Mercedes car because it didn’t feel right to drive. Now, with Ferrari, things are different. He’s taking it step by step to learn how everything works.
“We’re really just focused on doing our job,” Hamilton said. “We’re not watching everything else that’s happening. We’re literally just trying to make sure that we’re learning our processes in the car.” This means he’s not worrying about other drivers—he’s just figuring out his new team and car.
He’s still learning a lot. The Ferrari has different controls, like buttons and switches, compared to his old cars. He’s also figuring out parts like the rear suspension (the back springs that help the car move smoothly) and the front suspension (the front springs). Each team uses different words for these things, so he’s learning that too. “I’m still in the learning phase of understanding the rear suspension, the front suspension, all the different settings that they have for those and the terminology that they use for them as well,” he said.
Hamilton likes how the Ferrari feels when he drives it. “It likes to be driven differently. And that’s a really fun journey, learning that,” he said. He can tell the car is responding to what he does, like turning the wheel or pressing the pedals. “I feel that the car is responding to my inputs. Today was a positive day and making those incremental steps with the setup,” he added. “Inputs” means the way he controls the car, and “setup” is how the car is adjusted to work best.
Overall, Hamilton is having a good time getting ready for the new racing season with Ferrari. Each time he drives, he learns more and feels better about the car.
