Ferrari will arrive at the Spanish Grand Prix of Formula 1 next weekend with an experience that no other team on the grid has had on the new Madrid circuit, but McLaren does not believe this represents a big advantage. The British team’s boss, Andrea Stella, described the benefit gained by the Italian team as limited.
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The Italian team was the first to complete some laps with their 2026 cars, over the entire length of the new Madrid circuit. In July, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc participated in a filming day at the circuit and covered 200 km, which allowed the team to gather some references before the race weekend.
Stella admitted that the experience may help Ferrari, especially by providing information that other teams do not yet have. At the same time, the McLaren boss highlighted that the test conditions reduced the value of the data obtained.
“Some footage from the filming was shared with the other teams, regardless of the tires, which are not really representative, and the track conditions, which would be extremely slippery because it was just a construction site,” said Stella. According to him, it is still possible to learn a little from this type of activity.
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The manager also acknowledged a possible advantage related to the power units used this year: “You have some references, especially with this year’s power units, so possibly there is a small advantage,” he added. Stella also said that McLaren was surprised by Scuderia’s activity on the new circuit, although he stressed that it did not violate the regulations.
For the McLaren boss, however, this difference tends to disappear quickly when all teams accumulate laps on the circuit: “After a few laps in Madrid, we will have forgotten this and will simply remain focused on race week. So, it’s no big deal,” Stella concluded.
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