The seven-time world champion, having put a forgettable first season at Ferrari behind him, had the honour of being the first to take to the track at the wheel of the Scuderia’s new car.

The Brit completed a handful of laps in the SF-26 around the Fiorano circuit before handing over to his team-mate and bringing the scheduled shakedown to a close.

In a short video that later surfaced on social media the same day, Hamilton leaned out of a window and shouted the iconic line “good morning, my neighbours,” delivered by Eddie Murphy in the 1988 movie, one of his favourites.

The twist, however, was that the Brit delivered the line in Italian, sending fans on social media into a frenzy.

At the end of the on-track day, speaking to F1, the seven-time world champion reflected on his first feelings behind the wheel of the SF-26, despite the shakedown offering only a brief glimpse of what will unfold from tomorrow in Barcelona.