Hamilton: It’s too early to really understand performance

At the day's end of Bahrain F1 testing, Ferrari reported that Hamilton and Charles Leclerc split the eight hours of track time in the SF-25, with both drivers following the same structured programme. The focus was on system checks and correlation work rather than outright performance, as the team gathered data on its new car.

Hamilton was the first of the Ferrari duo out on track in the morning session, running with aero rakes to collect measurements while on Pirelli’s C2 compound. His programme included a comprehensive mapping process to evaluate the car’s characteristics and compare on-track data with simulator findings.

He later switched to the C3 tyre, trialling different aerodynamic configurations and fuel loads, while also conducting practice starts and pit stops. The seven-time world champion completed 70 laps, covering 379 kilometres, with a best time of 1:31.834 on the C3s.

Hamilton summed up his first day in red; he said: “Testing is always exciting. It’s the first time you get to see what everyone has been developing and can start to get a feel for your own car and the year ahead. Being here with Scuderia Ferrari HP and in the SF-25 for the first time is an incredible feeling.

"Our focus right now is on experimenting with different things, gathering as much data as possible and getting familiar with the car, and we’ve already learned a lot" added Hamilton, who ended the day P13, 1.4 seconds down on the top time set by McLaren's Lando Norris. Leclerc was fourth fastest during his stint in the new Ferrari.

“It’s too early to really understand performance," Hamilton declared, "but everything feels good and as a team we’re working on the best way to optimise each run.

"There’s more to do over the next few days to get through our programme and understand the car to the best of our ability, but right now I’m looking forward to getting out there again."

Leclerc took over for the afternoon session in Bahrain, completing 71 laps and ending the day fourth on the timesheets. The Monegasque driver was pleased with his opening day, stating: “It feels good to be back on track. The whole team put a lot of effort into the SF-25 project over the winter break, so it’s exciting to finally get down to work with it.

“It’s always a positive to have a smooth session without anything unexpected happening in terms of your run plan, although of course, it’s still too early to come to any conclusions about our performance.

"We’re going to analyse our data from today and make use of what we learn tonight when we start work again tomorrow," the Monegasque concluded.

Ferrari will continue its pre-season testing programme in Bahrain over the next two days, with Hamilton and Leclerc set for further running as the team fine-tunes its understanding of the SF-25 ahead of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on 16 March.