Lewis Hamilton has conducted his latest track outing with Ferrari prior to his debut campaign in Formula 1 with his new team, this time running its 2024 car in Barcelona.
Having sampled the 2023-spec SF-23 on his previous two appearances, Hamilton has now been granted the chance to pilot the car that Ferrari ran throughout last season.
Ferrari logged the most podiums on the grid with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz driving the SF-24, but it missed out on the Constructors’ Championship to McLaren.
The SF-24 proved to be a more predictable car than its recalcitrant predecessor, the car that Hamilton sustained an accident with during an outing in Barcelona one week ago.
Ferrari has been permitted to use the car that it ran last season as the team is participating in a test with Pirelli to develop the tyres that it plans to introduce in 2026.
To accommodate the 20 per cent downforce loss expected with the new rules, Ferrari ran a modified SF-24 with lower downforce levels to replicate the next-generation cars.
Hamilton managed to complete 87 laps in total, with a best time of 1:15.93s, over one-tenth quicker than team-mate Leclerc who added 86 laps during his later stint.
Leclerc was expected to be in action alongside Hamilton earlier on in the SF-23, with Ferrari having been tipped to run a dual programme amid the interruption last week.
Having been restricted to 14 laps at Fiorano due to adverse weather conditions, the Monegasque was unable to head out on track in Barcelona due to Hamilton’s crash.
The Spanish venue was a popular venue on Tuesday as McLaren was also testing with Pirelli using a mule version of the title-winning MCL60, minus sponsorship stickers.
Lando Norris was at the wheel and he accrued a mammoth 159 laps, the Briton’s quickest time being a 1:15.21s. Norris will hand over to Oscar Piastri on Wednesday.
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