Italian Kimi Antonelli, the 18-year-old rookie replacing seven times Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes this season, has passed his driving test. "Mission completed," Mercedes posted on their Instagram account,

Hamilton - who won six of his seven world titles at the Silver Arrows - completed his switch to rivals Ferrari during the off-season, where he will hope to rediscover his form having cut a frustrated figure for much of the past three years.

Lewis Hamilton is set to test a Ferrari once again this week – this time in Barcelona – after driving in scarlet red for the first time last week. The seven-time F1 world champion, 40, received a rapturous reception in Maranello last week as his two-year contract at Ferrari began.