Hamilton expected to make first appearance in Ferrari’s 2022 car

Lewis Hamilton looksset to make his Formula 1 debut for Ferrari early next year in a 2022 car, with the option of him taking part in the end-of-season test in Abu Dhabi now ruled out.

Seven-time world champion Hamilton will join the Maranello team in 2025. He made the decision to leave the team earlier this year after spending 12 seasons with Mercedes .

Ferrari had hoped Mercedes would release the Briton for the post-season tyre test in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday after the Formula 1 season finale, allowing them to start their partnership with Hamilton early.

However, Mercedes has already included Hamilton in its year-end promotional activities, including a demonstration drive for Petronas, which will take place on the same day as the Abu Dhabi test, so Ferrari will have to wait until 2025 to get Hamilton in the car. Ferrari is planning to put Hamilton on track in a previous model car, as they are not allowed to test drive the 2025 car ahead of the new season, outside of the official test in Bahrain.

Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur said they plan to give Hamilton a one or two-day “Previous Car Test” (TPC) with a 2022 model car.

“I don’t think he needs hours of testing to get used to it,” Vasseur told Motorsport.com.

“He’s so experienced that he’ll be fast on the first day or very soon. We’ll have one or two TPC days, plus testing in Bahrain, and that should be enough,” he said.

Under F1’s TPC rules, teams can test cars built under the regulations for the three calendar years preceding the championship year. That means Ferrari could let Hamilton drive its 2022 F1-75, the first of its new generation of cars built to ground effect regulations. The test is expected to take place at Ferrari’s Fiorano test track, right next to its Maranello factory.

Vasseur said work was being done at the factory to finalise a programme that would allow Hamilton to fit into Ferrari’s operations before the start of the 2025 season, but that he was not currently involved.

“Of course, part of the team is already focused on 2025, the test plan, the communication and Lewis being part of that.”

“But that’s not on the race team’s agenda yet and it’s not on my mind either.”