Another close call for Lewis Hamilton as he falls off Ferrari F1 car

Lewis Hamilton styled out a potentially painful moment as he lost his balance stepping out of his Ferrari F1 car during a demonstration run in Milan.

The seven-time world champion and new teammate Charles Leclerc entertained Ferrari fans as they took to the streets of Milan in some of the famous Italian team’s recent F1 cars on Thursday. 

Hamilton, in the SF21 from 2021, and Leclerc, behind the wheel of the SF-90 from 2019, drove through the streets of the Italian city and performed donuts in front of the fans who turned up in huge numbers to greet the pair.

But Hamilton avoided an awkward moment when he nearly fell from his Ferrari as he jumped down to the ground.

Footage on social media captured the moment Hamilton, seemingly unaware his car was still raised from the ground, stepped down from the SF-21, only to slip on one of the wheels which was moving freely.

Despite the tumble, Hamilton was able to land remarkably gracefully on his feet and appeared to avoid hurting himself.

It marks the latest close call Hamilton has had in recent weeks.

During pre-season testing in Bahrain, the 40-year-old Briton was filmed losing his footing as he stepped off a moving buggy in the pit lane.

Hamilton 'pinching himself' ahead of Ferrari debut 

Hamilton will make his eagerly-anticipated Ferrari race debut at next weekend’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

"It has been a long winter but it's also been very short," Hamilton told BBC Sport.

"But I'm really grateful. We had good testing last week. I can't believe the race is already next week so already start to make my venture to Australia on Friday. It'll start to sink in a little bit as this weekend before arrives.

"I feel excited. I feel we're as best prepared we could be given the short space of time that I've had. There's still things to learn but I'm just excited to get going. I love racing.

"All the other stuff is stuff I love less. Racing is what I love. Being at Melbourne is going to be very reminiscent of my first grand prix there.

"I'm now embarking on something brand new for me and something I didn't think would happen when I turned 40. I’m still pinching myself. Next week when I get to the race, I'm going to be starting a grand prix in red - wow!

“I don't have the words to really explain how excited I am, just trying to stay cool and calm, but for sure arriving in red is going to be cool.”