Ferrari could arrive at the new Madrid circuit with a slight edge over its Formula 1 rivals. Andrea Stella, head of McLaren, acknowledged that the activity carried out by the Italian team at the site could provide some references ahead of the track’s official debut.
Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton shared driving duties aboard the SF-26 during a filming day at the Madring circuit, completing the 200 km allowed under the regulations. While this type of activity is limited to Pirelli demonstration tires and does not permit testing equipment, Stella concedes that some information could be leveraged.
“We were not informed that Ferrari would carry out this session in Madrid,” Stella told the press. The executive also stressed that the tires used are not representative and that the track conditions were likely quite slippery, since the site is still under construction.
Even with these limitations, the head of McLaren acknowledged that Ferrari could derive some benefit from an early lap of the circuit: “There’s always a bit you can learn. You have some references, especially with this year’s power unit, so you don’t start with data you have to take completely as given, because nobody has been there,” he added.
The Madring, built near the IFEMA exhibition center, will host the first Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid on September 13. For Stella, Ferrari’s activity could represent ‘possibly a small advantage,’ but the impact is expected to fade quickly as teams accumulate laps during the official race weekend: “After a few laps in Madrid, we’ll have forgotten about it and we’ll simply focus on the race weekend,” he concluded.
