What next for Hamilton and Ferrari after F1 test debut?

Earlier this week, history was made as Lewis Hamilton exited the garage at Fiorano for the first time behind the wheel of a Ferrari F1 car.

The long-awaited arrival of the seven-time world champion was complete as it was almost 12 months ago when the Italian squad announced the signing of Hamilton from Mercedes.

Hamilton completed 30 laps during the short test and expressed his delight to finally get behind the wheel of the famous red car.

But what is next for the two parties as the 2025 F1 season approaches?

Hamilton and Ferrari's pre-season timeline

Having had the initial shakedown with the team, Hamilton will continue to work closely with his senior engineers to build trust ahead of what could be a crucial season for Ferrari.

The Italian squad narrowly missed out on claiming its first constructors' championship in 16 years last season, with rivals McLaren coming out on top.

Ferrari is gearing up for what could be its most competitive season for some time and being able to gift Hamilton an unprecedented eighth F1 title would be remembered as one of the all-time great sporting achievements.

As the two continue to bond, further outings are planned in the weeks to come - last month, Ferrari team boss Frederic Vasseur confirmed there would be Testing of Previous Cars (TPC) days allocated for Hamilton.

RacingNews365 has reported that the test will be held across several days at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, from January 28-30, to maximise the learning opportunities for Hamilton.

However, as per the sporting regulations, F1 teams are only allowed to allocate 1000km of TPC outings to full-time drivers - meaning Hamilton will have fewer than 200 laps in the older car when it hits the track in Spain.

This will be followed up by a Pirelli tyre test at the same track in early February, which will be the seven-time F1 drivers' champion's first chance to drive the 2024 Ferrari.

After that, Hamilton will take part in the season launch at the O2 Arena in London on February 18, where all 10 teams will present their 2025 cars (likely to be show cars with the new liveries for the season).

Ferrari has outlined it will have its own launch event the following day where the actual 2025 car in its initial configuration will be unveiled.

This will present Hamilton another opportunity to drive as both himself and team-mate Charles Leclerc will complete a shakedown of the car at Fiorano - albeit restricted to 100km.

Hamilton and co will then depart for Bahrain where pre-season testing will take place across three days from February 26-28. 

It will mark the last opportunity for Hamilton to get up to speed in the car before he enters his first race weekend with Ferrari two weeks later. There, Ferrari's true pace will be unveiled and offer an initial insight into its chances for the upcoming season.