AssetID: 54464451
Headline: RAW VIDEO: Lewis Hamilton Makes Debut In Ferrari's F1 Car
Caption: Lewis Hamilton has made his hotly anticipated debut in a Ferrari car on track on Wednesday (22January2024) as the team prepare for the 2025 Formula 1 season. The seven-time world champion battled thick fog that greeted him at Ferrari’s Maranello HQ - a good omen, as fellow seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher also battled the fog on his first day at Ferrari back in 1995. At 09:16, an SF-23 bearing the number 44 emerged from the garage for the first time, completing a single installation lap on rain tyres under the watchful eyes of Team Principal Fred Vasseur and his deputy, Jérôme d’Ambrosio. Hamilton’s family were also present, visibly excited by the moment. Once Vice President Piero Ferrari arrived to witness the action, Hamilton switched to slick tyres, running flying laps and practising race starts as he familiarised himself with the car’s systems. He completed 30 laps, covering 89 kilometres—less than he might have wanted, but new regulations mean even Testing of Previous Cars (TPC), which allows teams to run machinery at least two years old, is now capped at 1,000 kilometres per team. After a debrief with the engineers, Hamilton stepped out to greet the fans, thanking them for their warm welcome in his first days as a "ferrarista." Reflecting on the day, Hamilton said: "I’ve been lucky enough to have many firsts in my career, from the first test to the first race, podium, win and championship, so I wasn’t sure how many more firsts I had but driving a Scuderia Ferrari HP car for the first time this morning was one of the best feelings of my life. “When I started the car up and drove through that garage door, I had the biggest smile on my face. It reminded me of the very first time I tested a Formula 1 car, it was such an exciting and special moment, and here I am, almost twenty years later, feeling those emotions all over again.” Team Principal Vasseur summed up the occasion: "As is the case every year, the first time you go out on track is a bit like the first day back at school and quite an emotional feeling, especially today as it was Lewis’ first day as part of the team. Welcoming a new driver is always an important moment."
Keywords: feature,video,photo,lewis hamilton,ferrari,formula 1,motoring,motorsport,f1
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