Lewis Hamilton will receive his first taste of Ferrari Formula 1 machinery next week following his move from Mercedes for the F1 2025 season.
The seven-time World Champion will take to the team’s Fiorano test track behind the wheel of the F1-75, the team’s race-winning car from 2022.
Lewis Hamilton to drive F1-75 in first Ferrari test at Fiorano
The F1-75 was Ferrari’s first attempt under F1’s new ground-effect regulations introduced at the beginning of the 2022 season, with its name a nod to the 75th anniversary of the first Ferrari production car.
The car, defined by its unique ‘bathtub’-shaped sidepods and piloted by Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, marked a welcome return to form for the Scuderia after a disappointing couple of seasons in 2020/21.
The F1-75 was among the cars to suffer most heavily from the porpoising phenomenon generated by the ground-effect cars, with Hamilton himself complaining of a similar sensation at Mercedes throughout 2022.
Analysis: Lewis Hamilton joins Ferrari from Mercedes for F1 2025.
The car delivered Ferrari’s first victory in two-and-a-half years at the first time of asking at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix as Leclerc converted pole position into a fine victory.
Sainz crossed the line to seal a one-two finish after the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez both retired in the closing laps in Sakhir.
Running a smaller turbo than their competitors, the Ferrari’s traction out of slow corners packed a punch in 2022 as Red Bull struggled with an overweight car.After finishing a close second to Verstappen at the second race in Saudi Arabia, Leclerc again dominated from pole position in Australia to open up a lead of 46 points over Verstappen, who suffered his second DNF in three races in Melbourne.
It was after Australia that the season started to turn, however, Leclerc dropping to sixth after a late spin in the wet at the next race at Imola.
Worse was to come two races later in Spain, where he retired while comfortably in the lead with an engine problem.
Meanwhile, Sainz was in the midst of what would prove to be the worst run of his Ferrari career, retiring early in Australia and crashing out of qualifying in Emilia Romagna before another off-track excursion during his home race in Spain.
Just three races after trailing Leclerc by a margin worth almost two race wins, Verstappen was back on top of the Drivers’ standings after inheriting the victory in Barcelona.
Famously, he has remained at the top of the World Championship ever since, never losing the lead of the standings since May 2022.
Leclerc looked on course for some much-needed respite in Monaco, where he led the early laps comfortably in treacherous conditions.
However, his race turned upside down with a chaotic pit stop by the Ferrari crew – the first of many in 2022 – as he slipped to a disappointing fourth at the chequered flag, losing yet further ground to Verstappen.
More disappointment came at the next race in Baku, where he once again retired from a promising position with an engine failure.
That proved to be a turning point for Ferrari, who competed for the rest of the season with the engine turned down to prevent further reliability disasters.
It did not stop Sainz from collecting his maiden F1 victory in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone – the 2025 Williams driver was reunited with the F1-75 for a special ‘farewell’ test alongside his father at Fiorano in December 2024 – with Leclerc collecting another win a week later in Austria as the Red Bull’s pace mysteriously deserted Verstappen.
However, Leclerc’s title hopes suffered a fatal blow when he crashed out of the next race in France while pushing to make time on Verstappen during the pit stops.
Sniffing blood, Verstappen reeled off a stunning run of eight wins across the following nine races, memorably overcoming a penalty to win from 14th on the grid at Spa.
He would seal his second World Championship with four races to spare in a rain-affected race in Suzuka as Ferrari’s challenge faded away, Verstappen ending the season with a record 15 wins – a tally he would surpass the following year.
Leclerc did not come close to adding another win to his collection in 2022, though a streak of podium finishes – six podiums in the final eight races, including five in a row between Zandvoort and Austin – were a reminder of the inherent pace of the car.
He did at least salvage second place in the Drivers’ Championship, seeing off Perez by three points at the season finale in Abu Dhabi.
However, the way Ferrari’s season faltered so dramatically was deemed unsatisfactory inside Maranello, resulting in team principal Mattia Binotto leaving the team after a stint of almost 30 years.
three points at the season finale in Abu Dhabi.
However, the way Ferrari’s season faltered so dramatically was deemed unsatisfactory inside Maranello, resulting in team principal Mattia Binotto leaving the team after a stint of almost 30 years.
Binotto resigned from his role shortly after the final race, with Fred Vasseur installed as his successor weeks later having overseen Sauber’s most productive season since 2012, guiding the Swiss-based team (then Alfa Romeo) to sixth place in the Constructors’ standings.
In numbers: Ferrari F1-75 in 2022
Races: 22
Wins: 4
Podiums: 20
Pole positions: 12
Fastest laps: 5
The F1-75 would form the basis for the SF-23 of 2023, which became the only car other than the Red Bull to win a race that season as Sainz triumphed in Singapore.
Did Ferrari ever fully exploit the 2022 car’s potential?
Or was it flattered slightly by Red Bull’s poor start to the season, its true place in the competitive order only becoming clear once Ferrari’s rivals had sorted themselves out?
The debate over the F1-75 rages to this day, but it is undeniable that it played an important part in bringing Ferrari back into race-winning contention and bringing fresh hope to the team.
And when Hamilton lowers himself into its cockpit for his first test as a Ferrari driver, his number 44 plastered on the monocoque, the car’s unique place in the team’s history will be sealed.
