Lewis Hamilton’s first Ferrari drive locked in as ‘secret’ plan made with police on alert | F1 | Sport

Lewis Hamilton will reportedly get behind the wheel of a Ferrari F1 car in a secret test on Wednesday.

The Brit spent the first 17 years of his glittering career with McLaren and Mercedes. But at the age of 40, he is about to take on a new challenge and fulfil a childhood dream by competing for the Prancing Horse.

Ferrari have been deliberately secretive about the details of Hamilton’s first in-house test. However, a plan is now believed to be in place, and The Daily Mail claim that the seven-time world champion should get the chance to bank some laps at the Fiorano test circuit on Wednesday, if weather permits.

The first part of Hamilton’s on-track preparation will likely see him get to grips with his new team in their 2023 car. Testing of Previous Cars rules (TPC) permit him 620 miles of in-house practice but the car must be at least two years old.

Only at the official F1 test in Bahrain next month will Hamilton get the chance to drive Ferrari‘s brand new machine. And he will not have long to acclimatise, with his Scuderia debut pencilled in for the Australian Grand Prix on March 16.

Hamilton is due to be at the Maranello factory on Monday, where he will introduce himself to staff and spend some time on the simulator. His arrival is set to spark a frenzy of public attention in the town, with people able to catch a glimpse of the 105-time Grand Prix winner through the trees as he powers around the Fiorano track.

Italian journalist Robert Chinchero believes it could be ‘hard work for the police’, who are likely to be on high alert due to the ‘Hamilton mania’ which is gripping the nation’s racing-mad Ferrari supporters.

It has been nearly a year since Ferrari shocked the F1 world by announcing they had lured Hamilton away from Mercedes on a multi-year deal, following an 11-year spell with the Silver Arrows which brought him six world titles.

And it is about to get real for Hamilton as he prepares to pit his wits against new team-mate Charles Leclerc this season. The veteran Hamilton is hunting down his first Drivers’ Championship title since 2020, and he will reportedly earn in the region of £50million a year to continue that hunt in the scarlet colours of Ferrari.