Lewis Hamilton's first Ferrari F1 test and race engineer confirmed as details emerge
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Lewis Hamilton is set to drive a Ferrari for the first time within the next two weeks. The Brit turns 40 on Tuesday as he prepares to begin a new era of his glittering Formula 1 career. And that isn't the only big day he has to look forward to in January as Ferrari plan to put their new signing through his paces with an extensive testing schedule.
The Italians are determined to have Hamilton as prepared as possible for his first campaign with them and so will push the FIA's new rules around private testing to the limit. As of this year, though there was previously no limit on the distance that could be covered under the Testing of Previous Cars (TPC) regulations, teams can now only give drivers they are fielding in the championship a maximum of 1,000 kilometres of running.
To further constrict their plans, Ferrari are only allowed to reach that figure over the course of a maximum of four separate days of testing. And to get Hamilton ready for Melbourne, the Scuderia plans to reach that limit by the end of January. Early in the week commencing January 20, Hamilton will drive Ferrari machinery for the first time at the team's Fiorano test track. But the majority of his pre-season runs are set to take place at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya, where the Spanish Grand Prix is held.
Autosport reports the track has been rented out by Ferrari for at least four days, as an insurance policy against bad weather. Should one of the days be too wet to run, then they will still be able to make sure Hamilton gets in as much testing time as possible.
