Hamilton brings his star power to Ferrari on red-letter day for famous names

The air of determination around Lewis Hamilton is certainly familiar but there is now also a sense of expectation, an aura radiating through the murky gloom of an empty enormo-drome in the desert.

- Giles Richards

Hamilton has always been a star but, entering his 19th Formula One season with a new start at Ferrari, he is now burning even brighter.

In the chill wind of an unseasonably cold Bahrain for pre-season testing, Hamilton is a man anew as he takes on a challenge with the Scuderia, reinvigorated as perhaps he has not been since last he struck out on his own course when leaving McLaren for Mercedes in 2013.

He was the centre of attention from the moment he emerged from Ferrari's hospitality area before climbing into the new SF25 in front of the horde of photographers who had gathered early, encamped outside his garage. Hamilton looked relaxed and at ease, with his new helmet, in the bright Modena yellow of Ferrari, setting off the distinctive overalls in the team's rosso corsa.

Indeed, so at home has Hamilton made himself and so familiar he already looks interacting with his Ferrari teammates in Bahrain it seems hard to imagine that for so long he has been clad in Mercedes silver. It illustrates how quickly the world of Formula One turns and how adept Hamilton is at assimilating and accommodating change.

Previously there was at least some continuity, but this is the first time in his career that he has not driven with a Mercedes engine and that too was part of the learning process as he pounded round the Sakhir circuit, coming to terms with how the new horses hum.