Bahrain Pre-season Test: Hamilton's Ferrari career kicks off

The seven-time F1 world champion, who moved from Mercedes at the end of last season and is now 40, will also be able to compare his lap times to those of teammate Charles Leclerc.

The test is the only one before the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne kicks off the 24-race season on March 16, a round which will also be a first season-opener for six of the 20 drivers.

A huge buzz surrounds Hamilton and everyone is waiting to see how he fares in what promises to be an epic year with no shortage of storylines around the paddock.

He has driven the SF-25 for a filming day and also worn the red overalls at the wheel of older cars, but Wednesday will be his first official session with Ferrari running alongside rivals. The last time Hamilton experienced such a first day was when he joined Mercedes from McLaren in 2013.

Normally no fan of testing, because of the repetitive nature of tasks and lack of racing thrills, Hamilton has seemed genuinely delighted at the prospect and completely up for the occasion.

He has joked about eating plenty of pizza since he arrived in Italy but more seriously he claims to be feeling fitter and more energised than ever as he bids for a record eighth championship.

Wednesday will see Max Verstappen, chasing his fifth successive F1 drivers' title, get to grips with the first Red Bull since the departure of star designer Adrian Newey to Aston Martin.

New Zealander Liam Lawson, who has competed in 11 races as a stand-in replacement, and Verstappen drove the RB21 for a limited-mileage filming day on Tuesday and both will share the driving on Wednesday.

Hamilton's 18-year-old Italian replacement at Mercedes, Kimi Antonelli, will be sharing first day duties with old hand George Russell.

Australian Jack Doohan at Alpine, Brazilian Gabriel Bortoleto at Sauber, Frenchman Isack Hadjar at Racing Bulls and Briton Oliver Bearman at Haas are the other rookies in action, although Doohan and Bearman have both made race debuts already.

Spaniard Carlos Sainz, who previously occupied Hamilton's seat at Ferrari, will be aiming to put in plenty of laps at Williams.

Tickets are being sold for fans to attend on Thursday and Friday, with the Sakhir circuit also hosting the country's grand prix in April.

A season-opener last year, the race has been moved back in the 2025 calendar to accommodate Ramadan.

The test will run over the course of three days, Wednesday, February 26, till Friday, February 28, with two sessions per day starting at 7:00 am GMT till 11:00 am GMT. After a one-hour lunch break, the afternoon session will start ending at 04:00pm GMT.

Here is how the teams allocated the testing times for their drivers.

On Day 1, Liam Lawson starts driving in the morning with Max Verstappen taking over in the afternoon. Lawson will have Day 2 fully in the car, while Verstappen will drive the RB21 solo on the final day.

Ferrari only revealed their driver lineup for day one with Lewis Hamilton kicking off the team's test on Wednesday morning while Charles Leclerc takes over in the afternoon.

Mercedes opted to run both drivers on each day of the test. Day 1 will see Kimi Antonelli drive in the morning while George Russell takes over in the afternoon.

Drivers will switch for Day 2, with Russell starting the day and Antonelli wrapping up. On the final day, the Mercedes driver will drive in the order of Day 1.

The 2024 F1 constructors' champions start testing with Oscar Piastri on the AM of Day 1 with Lando Norris getting in the car in the PM. The same order applied for Day 2 with Norris starting the final day and Piastri concluding the test.

On Day 1, Yuki Tsunoda starts, then Isack Hadjar takes over. They will run in the same order on Day 2 and switch turns for the final day.

Fernando Alonso will drive on the morning sessions of the first two days with Lance Stroll on duty for the PM. They switch for the final day.

On Day 1, Alex Albon will drive in the morning with Carlos Sainz driving in the afternoon. The Spaniard will be on driving duty for the full second day, while the Thai driver will have the FW47 for himself on the final day.

Oliver Bearman will drive the morning sessions of Days 1 and 3, while Esteban Ocon will drive in the afternoon. The Frenchman will drive in the morning of Day 2, as the Briton drives in the afternoon.

Jack Doohan will drive first on Day 1 with Pierre Gasly following. On Day 2, Gasly starts in the morning with Doohan driving in the afternoon. The final day will have the same order as the first.

On Days 1 and 2, Nico Hulkenberg will drive in the morning with Gabriel Bortoleto driving in the afternoon. The Brazilian will drive first on the final day as his German teammate wraps up the test for Sauber.

(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, Additional reporting by GrandPrix247)