Ferrari encouraged by Barcelona upgrades as Charles Leclerc impresses on long runs. Ferrari’s new upgrade package delivered encouraging early results in Barcelona.

F1 | Ferrari: upgrades deliver promising signs, Leclerc impresses on race pace while Lewis struggles

Formula 1 has entered the phase of the season that will accompany the championship through the remainder of the European campaign: permanent racing circuits and generally high air and track temperatures. On the opening day of track action at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Mercedes and McLaren started exactly as many had predicted, with Lando Norris, George Russell and Oscar Piastri covered by just 57 thousandths of a second. Behind them was Charles Leclerc, who finished fourth, 0.373 seconds off the pace.

Ferrari arrived in Spain with plenty of developments to evaluate. The upgrade package introduced in Barcelona is a substantial one, and in Leclerc’s case there was also significant attention surrounding the braking system, with the debut of Carbon Industrie brake discs scheduled following the difficulties experienced during the Monaco Grand Prix weekend.

On that front, the news was positive. The feedback gathered throughout Friday satisfied the Monegasque driver, who will continue using the friction material supplied by the French company for the remainder of the weekend. Ferrari had been eager to assess whether the new solution could address the concerns raised in recent events, and the initial indications appear encouraging.

The data emerging from the new technical package, which includes updates to the floor and front wing, was also positive. However, this was the first time the package had been used on track, meaning additional work will be required to fully optimise the overall setup and unlock its maximum potential. Even so, the first kilometres completed with the revised configuration did not reveal any major issues.

In qualifying simulation trim, the gap of just under four tenths of a second remains significant, although the comparison is based on a single flying lap. The switch to the C4 soft compound does not allow for a second competitive push lap, making direct comparisons more difficult. More interesting, however, was the picture that emerged from the race simulation, where tyre management appeared particularly convincing.

Running on medium tyres, Leclerc was the fastest driver in the long-run analysis, recording an average lap time of 1:21.696 across seven laps. He finished ahead of George Russell, who averaged 1:21.788 over nine laps, while maintaining a more substantial advantage over Oscar Piastri, whose average was 1:22.336 across seven laps. The continuous evolution of track conditions means these figures should be treated with caution when projecting race performance, but the consistency shown by the Ferrari SF-26 nevertheless represents an encouraging signal for the Scuderia.

“It was an interesting day,” commented Leclerc. “We brought some new components to the car and made a step forward. In terms of competitiveness, it is still too early to draw conclusions and I believe our rivals are still quite a bit ahead of us. We need to focus on maximising the potential of the package we have available at the moment and then we will see what we can achieve tomorrow.”

The debrief for Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, looks set to be longer than expected. The seven-time world champion began his Friday by watching FP1 from the Ferrari garage after handing his car over to Dino Beganovic. The young Swedish driver completed the planned programme using the non-upgraded version of the car, allowing Ferrari to carry out a direct comparison with the new package. For FP2, Hamilton’s Ferrari was returned to the same specification used by Leclerc.

Lewis had only one genuine qualifying-style lap at his disposal, which he completed in 1:17.430, good enough for ninth place. Overall, however, he inevitably paid the price for the track time lost during the morning session. To make matters more complicated, his front wing suffered an issue related to the SLM system during the session and had to be replaced.

“My only session of the day was quite challenging,” explained Hamilton. “There was an issue with the front wing that made things a bit more complicated, especially in terms of tyre preparation, and missing the first session left me starting a bit on the back foot. There is still work to do, but we collected useful data and tonight we will focus on the changes we need to make in order to improve for tomorrow.”