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FORMULA 1
SAM BLOXHAM / MERCEDES-BENZ AG
In Formula 1’s standard post-season testing, it is customary for drivers who switch teams to sit in their new cars for the first time in the days after the Abu Dhabi GP – and to that end Ferrari is trying to persuade Mercedes to allow early release of Lewis Hamilton.
The same 2022 tests, for example, saw Fernando Alonso make his first Aston Martin F1 kilometers after the Silverstone team reached an agreement with Alpine F1 to release the Spaniard early.
According to the British BBC Sport, the possibility of Hamilton making his first kilometers with Ferrari in Abu Dhabi is “zero”, as the seven-time champion is bound by a contract with Mercedes until the end of December.
The latter, in fact, is said to have planned a series of – the last – public appearances of Hamilton with the team, as part of its sponsors’ events.
However, sources in Italy say that Ferrari is trying to reach an agreement with Mercedes so that Lewis can get his first taste of the SF-24 before the end of the year, on the particular day of testing after the Abu Dhabi GP on December 8, 2024.
Hamilton’s first impressions will be very useful for both him and the Scuderia, as otherwise the Briton will have to wait until the first winter tests in March to drive a cavallino for the first time.
At the Abu Dhabi tests each team must enter one of its two experienced racing drivers and one rookie who has not started more than 2 GPs.
And while for Mercedes the choice of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli is easy, for Scuderia Ferrari it seems quite complicated at the moment, as it seems to depend solely on Toto Wolff.
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