Charles Leclerc believes qualifying will be the decisive moment of Ferrari’s Madrid Grand Prix weekend after finishing second in Friday afternoon’s FP2 session at the Madring. The Ferrari driver warned that overtaking around the new circuit is extremely difficult, meaning Saturday’s grid positions could have a major influence on the final outcome.
Coming off a disastrous Sunday at Monza, Charles Leclerc appears to have started the Madrid weekend on a much stronger footing. The Monegasque finished FP2 behind only Andrea Kimi Antonelli, while beating Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton by just 0.036 seconds. Friday’s qualifying simulation could therefore prove particularly significant, with Charles Leclerc convinced that much of the weekend will revolve around what happens on Saturday.
Charles Leclerc says Madrid GP qualifying will be decisive
The extremely limited overtaking opportunities around the Madring are expected to place even greater emphasis on starting position, making qualifying potentially crucial for both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.
“Qualifying will definitely be the key moment of the weekend,” Charles Leclerc told Formula 1’s official website. “Particularly during FP2, I tried to overtake but, despite the significant difference in pace, it proved extremely difficult, if not impossible, to do so. Consequently, a large part of this weekend’s performance will depend on qualifying.”
The comments reinforce one of the main conclusions to emerge from Formula 1’s first day of competitive running at the new venue. Drivers had already highlighted the challenges posed by the new Madrid circuit before the weekend, but Friday provided the first opportunity to assess how the layout behaves with the full field on track.
For Ferrari, the importance of qualifying also places greater emphasis on extracting the maximum performance from the SF-26 over a single lap. The characteristics of the Madring had given the team reason to believe that Ferrari’s SF-26 could be better suited to Madrid than Monza, and Charles Leclerc’s second place in FP2 provided an encouraging start.
Charles Leclerc encouraged by Ferrari’s opening day in Madrid
Charles Leclerc was positive about his first day behind the wheel at the Madring, although he acknowledged the early strength shown by Mercedes and cautioned against drawing firm conclusions from the practice classification.
“For now, the feeling is pretty good,” Charles Leclerc added when assessing Friday’s running. “Although it’s true that Mercedes looks strong. However, we don’t place too much importance on the results from the first practice session because we don’t know the others’ run plans. The main objective was to maximise the number of laps on the new track, gather all the necessary data and build confidence with the circuit ahead of tomorrow’s qualifying.”
With every lap providing valuable information at a venue completely new to Formula 1, Ferrari used Friday to understand both the circuit and the behaviour of the SF-26. The team has also been assessing its aerodynamic configuration, including its rear-wing choices for the Madrid Grand Prix, as it searches for the best compromise before qualifying.
Charles Leclerc praises ‘exciting’ Madring layout
Unlike Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc appeared to enjoy the Madring layout. The Ferrari driver, who has traditionally been comfortable on street circuits, praised the challenge presented by Formula 1’s newest venue.
“The track is very exciting,” said the Ferrari number 16. “It’s stimulating, challenging and also very unforgiving. These are the types of tracks I usually enjoy a lot and this one is no exception. It was really enjoyable driving on this new circuit.”
However, Charles Leclerc expects the difficulty level to increase considerably once the field begins pushing to the absolute limit on Saturday.
“There’s still a lot of work to do and I expect tomorrow to be one of the most challenging qualifying sessions of the year, as it’s a track that requires a great deal of commitment and concentration.”
That assessment leaves Ferrari with a clear priority after an encouraging Friday. Charles Leclerc has started the weekend near the front and Lewis Hamilton was only 0.036 seconds behind him in FP2, but with passing opportunities appearing extremely limited, outright qualifying performance could carry even greater importance than usual. For Ferrari, converting Friday’s potential into the strongest possible grid positions for Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton is now the central challenge of Saturday in Madrid.
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