German will replace Fernando Alonso at the Scuderia in 2015

Sebastian Vettel got his first taste of life as a Ferrari driver on Saturday as he drove the F2012 at the team’s Fiorano test track.

The four-time World Champion will replace Fernando Alonso at the Scuderia next season as he embarks on a new chapter in his career having been part of the Red Bull family since 1998.

The German sported a white helmet for the test with the words, "My first day at Ferrari" adnd Saturday's date written on it. The car carried the number five Vettel will use in 2015 – although perhaps rather confusingly it was the same number Alonso had had on that car in 2012.

The F2012 is the most recent Ferrari Vettel is allowed to drive outside of an official session under F1’s stringent testing regulations.

Article 22.2 of the FIA F1 Sporting Regulations states:

‘Testing of Previous Cars (TPC) shall be defined as any track running time, not part of an Event, in which a competitor entered in the Championship participates (or in which a third party participates on behalf of a competitor), using cars which were designed and built in order to comply with the 2010, 2011 or 2012 Formula One Technical Regulations.

‘TPC may only be carried out with cars built to the specification of the period and only tyres manufactured specifically for this purpose may be used.’

Vettel also made an appearance in the Ferrari garage at the Abu Dhabi test earlier this week as he looks to familiarise himself with his new environment as quickly as possible.