Martin Brundle has revealed that he had a request to drive a Ferrari snubbed by the Formula One team. The former driver says he wanted to test the ‘challenging’ experience of driving for the Scuderia outfit.

Ferrari have snapped up Lewis Hamilton in a blockbuster switch ahead of the 2025 season. The seven-time world champion has this week been driving a Ferrari for the first time since his move from Mercedes.

Brundle can understand why Hamilton wanted to join Ferrari but believes the 40-year-old will be handed only three races to acclimatise himself to the team.

Speaking on Sky Sports, Brundle said: “I did write to Ferrari for once and asked them to put me in the car but they said no. There’s something so special about the prancing horse, about Ferrari. You’re driving for a country, not just a team there.

“All the expectations for that and the politics and the media who go with that. That can be challenging.

“It’s a carbon fire chassis that happens to be painted red instead of silver or black, as it was at Mercedes. But somehow it matters. There are no excuses at this level for anybody.

“Somebody like Lewis, they will expect him within two or three races to have aced the people around him and in the car.

“Never underestimate Lewis Hamilton but Charles Leclerc is fast, there is no doubt about it. He stopped crashing a little bit, because he had a habit of over-driving himself in the car and hitting the wall a bit too frequently.

“Charles is the real deal now. He will take some beating.”

On Wednesday, Hamilton drove a 2023 Ferrari for 30 laps around the Fiorano test track. It was his first experience driving one of the team’s F1 vehicles.

He reflected: "I've been lucky enough to have many firsts in my career, from the first test to the first race, podium, win and championship, so I wasn't sure how many more firsts I had but driving a Ferrari for the first time this morning, was one of the best feelings of my life.

"When I started the car up and drove through that garage door, I had the biggest smile on my face. It reminded me of the very first time I tested a Formula One car, it was such an exciting and special moment, and here I am, almost 20 years later, feeling those emotions all over again."