Ferrari Wraps Up Lewis Hamilton’s Testing Days for F1 2025

Lewis Hamilton has completed his allotted four days of testing with Ferrari for the 2025 season, as part of the Formula 1 Testing of Previous Car (TPC) regulations. This process allows current drivers to familiarize themselves with older cars to gather data and improve their performance.

Hamilton first drove the Ferrari SF-23 at Fiorano on February 23, then moved to Barcelona for additional sessions, sharing track time with teammate Charles Leclerc. His testing was cut short after a crash on Day 2, but he returned for further runs during a Pirelli tyre test with an adapted SF-24. On that day, Leclerc also tested the SF-23 in the morning, with Hamilton taking the wheel in the afternoon for his fourth day of testing.

Under current rules, drivers involved in the championship are limited to 1,000 km of testing in older vehicles across four days. These regulations were revised following objections from teams, notably Ferrari, after Max Verstappen tested a 2022 Red Bull car in 2023. Ferrari’s team principal, Fred Vasseur, explained the purpose of these tests as a way to develop drivers and support simulator work, with specific distinctions for different driver roles.

The FIA introduced new rules in December 2022, enforcing mileage limits on TPC sessions—each driver can only log up to 1,000 km over four days annually. Since Hamilton has already reached his limit with his four days in the SF-23, he cannot undertake further TPC testing this season.

However, Ferrari still has one day remaining with Leclerc and additional opportunities with reserve driver Antonio Giovinazzi and new signing Zhou Guanyu, as non-championship drivers may get up to 20 TPC days annually.