Ferrari may arrive at the new Madrid circuit with a small advantage over competing teams in Formula 1. Andrea Stella, McLaren’s chief, acknowledged that the activity carried out by the Italian team at the location could provide some references before the official track debut.
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Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton shared the driving duties of the SF-26 during a filming day at the Madring circuit, completing the 200 km allowed by the regulations. Although this type of activity is limited to Pirelli demonstration tires and does not allow testing equipment, Stella admits that some information can be leveraged.
“We were not informed that Ferrari would do this session in Madrid,” Stella told the press. The executive also pointed out that the tires used are not representative and that the track conditions were probably quite slippery, as the location is still under construction.
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Even with these limitations, the McLaren chief acknowledged that Ferrari could extract some benefit from the early visit to the circuit: “There is always a little you can learn. You have some references, especially with this year’s power unit, so you don’t start with data you have to fully assume, because no one has been there,” he added.
The Madring, built near the IFEMA exhibition center, will host the first Spanish GP in Madrid on September 13. For Stella, Ferrari’s activity may represent ‘possibly a small advantage,’ but the impact tends to fade quickly as teams accumulate laps during the official race weekend: “After a few laps in Madrid, we will have forgotten that and will simply focus on the race weekend,” he concluded.
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