It has been confirmed Lewis Hamilton will not be partaking in post-season testing with Ferrari after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in December.
Hamilton sent the world of Formula 1 into an absolute frenzy in February when it was announced he would be leaving Mercedes after 13 years at the German team.
The Brit won six of his seven driver championships with the team, but after a significant car performance drop since 2021 paired with struggles against teammate George Russell has resulted in the switch to Ferrari.
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However, life for Hamilton is unlikely to get any easier in 2025 with the 39-year-old set to be paired with Charles Leclerc, who has only been outscored by a teammate once in his career to date.
It will be a tough ask for Hamilton to be able to come into a team that has essentially been built around Leclerc and come out on top, so Hamilton will be desperate to do whatever ever it takes to ensure a smooth transition.
One of those things could have been to partake in post-season testing for Ferrari, but the BBC have confirmed that will not be physically possible for Hamilton on this occasion.
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Despite Pierre Gasly making his debut for Alpine in the 2022 post-season test, Hamilton's contract with Mercedes will not allow him to make the switch until 2025.
Hamilton looked to have finally turned his form around this season after finally breaking his duck and winning the British Grand Prix, which was closely followed by a win in Belgium following George Russell's disqualification.
However, it has ended up being another difficult campaign for Hamilton, with the most recent race in Singapore a significant low point for the Mercedes driver.
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Despite starting third on the grid, Hamilton was put on a rather strange strategy by his team which completely took him out of contention.
Hamilton made no secret over his frustrations on the team radio and called out the team during an interview after the race.
Topics: Lewis Hamilton, Formula 1, Mercedes, Ferrari, Charles Leclerc, George Russell
Tom Jenkins