Ferrari’s second Formula 1 test day in Barcelona has been cut short, with Lewis Hamilton’s early shunt bringing the running to a premature end.
The Scuderia has been running in Catalunya to make the most of the new, more restrictive regulations surrounding ‘Testing of Previous Cars’ for current Formula 1 racers. Each team is entitled to a yearly allowance of 1000km over four days, inclusive of both race drivers.
Ferrari covered 131km in Fiorano last week with Hamilton and team-mate Charles Leclerc driving the SF-23 from the 2023 season, with additional running having been completed yesterday at Barcelona with both of them.
However, Hamilton crashed out at Turn 12 around 11am on Wednesday, causing substantial damage to the front end of the car, including the suspension and bodywork.
Leclerc was supposed to take over in the afternoon, and team chiefs hoped the repair process might be swift enough to allow the Monegasque some running at the end of the day, but visibility was too low when the rebuilding of the car was completed due to decreasing daylight.
As a consequence, Hamilton and Leclerc have both left Barcelona, with the schedule unchanged for Ferrari’s last day of testing this week: main reserve driver Antonio Giovinazzi and protege Dino Beganovic will share the SF-23 on track on Thursday.
A Prema driver and member of the Ferrari Driver Academy since 2020, Beganovic won the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine in 2022 and took sixth in the last two Formula 3 campaigns.
The Swede has now cleared the 40-point threshold to be awarded an FIA superlicence. He is expected to take part in Free Practice 1 sessions for Ferrari this year, fulfilling the sporting regulations mandating that teams use rookies on four occurrences – two per car – over the season.
As for Hamilton and Leclerc, Ferrari can presumably run them with the SF-23 for one more day in 2025 according to the TPC regulations. The team could make the most of the Pirelli test planned on 4-5 February – which McLaren will also partake in – to extend its stay at Barcelona and complete its fourth testing day.
