Lewis Hamilton claim made by Ferrari rookie following 'taste test'

Ferrari rookie driver Dino Beganovic has claimed it was "a dream" to partner Lewis Hamilton in first practice at the Austrian Grand Prix, in what was a "taste test" of life as an F1 driver.

Beganovic is a starring member of Ferrari's development programme and has been fielded in Bahrain and Austria first practice this season. 

The Swedish-Bosnian driver sits 10th in the Formula 2 drivers' standings, but has impressed in both FP1 appearances for the Scuderia. 

At just 21 years old, Beganovic is living the dream of working with both Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, whom he has been watching very closely. 

According to the young driver, he never believed he would get the opportunity to partner Hamilton in an F1 garage, with that opportunity spurring him on to keep pushing to reach the pinnacle of motorsport.

"If someone told me last year that I would be sharing the garage with Lewis, taking the place of Charles, it would be something I wouldn't really believe at first, but it's a dream that is coming true," Beganovic told RacingNews365 during an interview.  

"Obviously, I'm still not where I want to be, which is Formula 1. But getting these kind of taste tests every now and then just gives you more motivation to want it even more and work even harder for it."

Valuable knowledge has been gained by Beganovic this season, monitoring the way Hamilton and Leclerc work with the Maranello-based outfit. 

Whilst there are minimal differences, Hamilton's hunger at 40 years old to win an eighth drivers' title has left him in awe.

"There is a lot to take out of how Charles is working with the team, how Lewis is working with the team," added Beganovic. "Obviously, he's won seven world championships in Formula 1 and plenty of races. 

"So, the way of working, it's not different, because we are still all hungry to win. But I'm just impressed by how hungry he [Hamilton] is at the age he is, pushing so hard to get Ferrari to the top, but also to get himself to that eighth [championship]."