Lewis Hamilton’s first Ferrari car isn’t what you think as team unveil 2025 design | F1 | Sport

Lewis Hamilton will take to the stage in Ferrari gear on Tuesday night as F1 fans at The O2 get a first glimpse of the seven-time world champion representing his new team.

However, the car alongside him will not be the car that takes to the track in Bahrain. F1 75 Live will be the first time that Hamilton has faced fans in his home country since moving to Maranello over the winter.

The Brit experienced four days of TPC (testing of previous cars) running at the Fiorano test track and the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and has otherwise been preparing at Ferrari’s base in Italy.

The blockbuster F1 75 Live event will give a sold-out crowd of 15,000 fans the chance to witness all 10 teams unveil their new liveries for the 2025 season. However, the true 2025 car designs will not be on show in The O2 arena.

Instead, fans will need to wait until pre-season testing at the Sakhir International Circuit next week to see Hamilton step behind the wheel of Ferrari’s 2025 challenger. While this will be a disappointing realisation for some fans watching on, it is not unusual for teams to launch their liveries plastered over show cars or the previous year’s design.

While Ferrari’s true new challenger will not be on show in London, a handful of teams have already released their new designs to the world, albeit with one-off liveries to protect the exclusivity of the F1 75 Live event.

McLaren became the first team to break cover when Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri hit the Silverstone track on Thursday. The MCL39 – an evolution of the 2024 car rather than a revolution – completed laps around the team’s home circuit with a striking camouflage livery.

Then, on Friday, Williams staged an event at Silverstone with 2009 F1 world champion and team ambassador Jenson Button present as Carlos Sainz turned the first laps in the FW47 in extremely cold conditions. Alex Albon also got a chance to drive the team’s new car later in the day.

Haas became the third and final team to unveil their car before Tuesday’s event when they conducted a private filming day at Silverstone. The American squad also revealed their new driver overalls, modelled by new signings Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman.