Hamilton continues Ferrari testing in Barcelona

Lewis Hamilton is continuing his preparations for the Formula 1 season by testing for his new Ferrari team at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya this week.

The seven-time champion and team-mate Charles Leclerc both drove a 2023 F1 car at the home of the Spanish Grand Prix on Tuesday.

Hamilton is building his experience with Ferrari following his initial acclimatisation run at their Fiorano test track in Italy last week.

The team are doing everything they can to ensure Hamilton is as prepared as possible for the new season after 12 years with Mercedes.

Hamilton will be building his working methods with new race engineer Riccardo Adami as driver and team learn how best to work with other.

No details have been released about the test, which is being held behind closed doors.

Ferrari are expected to run for three days in Spain, although they are limited as to how many laps the drivers can complete.

Current race drivers are permitted an annual total of 1,000km (621 miles) of testing in cars from previous years. The 2023 car is the most recent that can be used under F1's testing restrictions.

The 2025 Ferrari will be unveiled on 19 February, when Hamilton and Leclerc will run it briefly at Fiorano.

They then move on to the official pre-season test in Bahrain on 26-28 February.

Among other issues, Hamilton will have to familiarise himself with the operating procedures of the Ferrari engine, having previously driven only Mercedes power-units in F1.

Modern F1 engines are 1.6-litre V6 turbo hybrids with sophisticated energy recovery systems and complicated control processes, many of which are operated by the driver in the cockpit.

Although the multiple power and performance modes of the various engines are all designed to do similar functions, each manufacturer has different software and operating procedures, with drivers requiring time to become familiar with them.