Ferrari’s filming day in Madrid was about far more than promotional activities. Although the event was officially organised under Formula 1’s filming day regulations, it proved to be an extremely valuable opportunity for the Scuderia to validate simulation data, refine predictive tyre degradation models, and gather useful information ahead of Formula 1’s first-ever visit to the brand-new Spanish circuit. While the number of laps was naturally limited and the drivers were not pushing anywhere close to qualifying pace, every kilometre completed on the new asphalt has the potential to provide valuable engineering information that could become important later in the season.
Thursday marked a highly significant day for both Scuderia Ferrari and the organisers of the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix at Madrid’s brand-new circuit. Construction of the new venue has been the subject of intense speculation over the past several months, with many questioning whether the ambitious project would be completed on time. Finishing every section of the infrastructure has required an enormous collective effort, especially considering that only 62 days remain before the inaugural Formula 1 race weekend in the Spanish capital.
The filming day featuring Formula 1’s most iconic team also represented a major publicity boost for the organisers. Having Ferrari on track generated worldwide attention and allowed the event promoters to showcase the remarkable progress made so far while also demonstrating their confidence that the remaining work will be completed before the championship arrives in September. Images of a Ferrari Formula 1 car driving around the MadRing immediately travelled across social media and motorsport news outlets, offering exactly the type of global exposure that any brand-new Formula 1 venue hopes to receive before hosting its first Grand Prix.
For Ferrari, however, the advantages of the day extended far beyond promotional purposes. Although the primary objective officially remained marketing and media activities, the engineering department was still able to collect useful information that can later be incorporated into the team’s simulation tools.
Track conditions were far from ideal. Grip levels were extremely low because construction work around the circuit was still ongoing, while the freshly laid asphalt remained completely “green,” meaning it had not yet accumulated the rubber normally deposited by racing cars over multiple support events and practice sessions. Such conditions naturally provide much less mechanical grip than what drivers will experience during the actual Grand Prix weekend.
For this reason, neither Charles Leclerc nor Lewis Hamilton attempted to explore the limits of the SF-26. Both Ferrari drivers adopted an extremely cautious approach throughout the running because the risk of suffering a significant accident on an unfinished circuit with very little grip simply outweighed any possible benefit of driving closer to the limit. The objective was never to set fast lap times, but rather to complete the scheduled programme safely while gathering as much technical information as possible.
This naturally raises an interesting question. What practical advantages could Ferrari realistically gain from what was officially nothing more than a promotional filming day?
The first and perhaps most obvious benefit is that both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton have already experienced the layout of the new Spanish circuit in real life. Simulator work can reproduce an impressive amount of detail, but nothing can fully replace the experience of physically driving around a circuit. Even at reduced speed, both drivers have now memorised every corner, every braking zone, every change of direction and every reference point that will become familiar when the championship returns to Madrid in September.
That alone already represents a useful starting point, but the technical benefits go much deeper than simple driver familiarisation. Simulator calibration for brand-new Formula 1 circuits is an extremely sophisticated engineering process that begins many months before a track is actually completed in the real world. Modern Formula 1 teams rely heavily on advanced simulation technology because testing opportunities on actual circuits are now severely restricted by the sporting regulations. As a result, the accuracy of simulator models has become increasingly important in determining how competitive a team can be when arriving at a new venue.
The calibration process follows several major stages, each contributing to the creation of an increasingly accurate virtual version of the circuit. The first stage involves LiDAR scanning. Whenever a new circuit is added to the Formula 1 calendar, the event organisers commission a comprehensive LiDAR scan as early as the asphalt-laying phase.
LiDAR, which stands for Light Detection and Ranging, produces an enormous three-dimensional point cloud in which every individual point contains millimetre-accurate spatial coordinates together with detailed information regarding the reflectivity of the surface. The resulting database is remarkably detailed. Instead of simply recreating the racing line, it captures virtually every physical characteristic of the circuit with exceptional precision.
These data are then supplied in advance to Formula One Management, which subsequently distributes the information to all Formula 1 teams. This allows engineers to begin preparing car setups months before the circuit is officially completed.
The LiDAR scan reproduces every kerb, every bump, every small surface irregularity, every camber variation and every safety barrier. In addition to the racing surface itself, numerous external visual reference points are also recreated, including bridges, advertising boards, fencing, buildings and even trees. These visual references are incredibly important because Formula 1 drivers naturally use them as braking markers and turn-in references during qualifying and race conditions.
The next phase focuses on modelling the characteristics of the asphalt itself. The chemical and physical properties of the road surface have a major influence on how a modern Formula 1 car behaves. Engineers therefore input detailed information into the simulator regarding the asphalt’s roughness, its expected grip level and numerous additional characteristics that influence tyre behaviour throughout a race weekend.
Estimated tyre degradation rates are calculated according to the microscopic structure of the newly laid asphalt. To evaluate tyre wear, teams employ highly sophisticated predictive mathematical models capable of estimating the thermal energy generated inside each tyre during every phase of a lap.
Formula 1 tyres increase in temperature not only while braking, accelerating or cornering at extremely high speeds. Their temperature also rises because the tyre compounds continuously deform under load, a consequence of the viscoelastic properties of the rubber itself. This behaviour is enormously complex and represents one of the most challenging aspects of Formula 1 vehicle simulation.
Understanding these thermal characteristics allows engineers to estimate how quickly tyres may degrade, how aggressively drivers can push during each stint, and which compounds are likely to offer the strongest race performance. The next stage consists of offline simulations. Using the newly created virtual circuit, simulator software calculates the theoretical ideal racing line while estimating the maximum cornering speeds achievable through every section of the lap.
To perform these calculations, engineers combine the circuit model with the latest Computational Fluid Dynamics, or CFD, aerodynamic data relating to the Ferrari SF-26. These simulations help determine the baseline aerodynamic configuration, the most appropriate downforce level and the gearbox ratios most suitable for the circuit’s unique combination of long straights and technical corners. Although these values will inevitably evolve throughout the race weekend, they provide engineers with an extremely valuable starting point before the first practice session even begins.
Another crucial phase is known as Driver-in-the-Loop testing. Dedicated simulator drivers spend many hours completing extensive simulation sessions designed specifically to validate the virtual circuit model. Their role extends well beyond simply driving laps.
They must carefully evaluate whether the simulator accurately reproduces real-world behaviour, including steering feel, G-forces, braking characteristics, kerb impacts, suspension responses and countless other details that contribute to the overall realism of the simulation.
Any inconsistency identified during these sessions can subsequently be corrected before the race weekend arrives. The final stage is the correlation process. This represents the moment when virtual engineering meets reality. Calibration is only considered complete once the Formula 1 cars actually take to the circuit during Friday’s Free Practice 1 and Free Practice 2 sessions. Throughout both practice sessions, real telemetry data are transmitted instantly to the team’s remote garage, where engineers compare the actual behaviour of the Ferrari SF-26 against the predictions previously generated by the simulator.
If grip levels prove higher or lower than expected, if certain bumps are larger than anticipated, or if kerbs produce different suspension responses compared to the virtual model, engineers immediately begin updating the simulator.
This correlation process continues throughout Friday and often into the night. Once the simulator has been perfectly recalibrated using genuine on-track data, it becomes one of the team’s most powerful engineering tools. Ferrari’s engineers then use it extensively overnight to evaluate alternative setup options, compare aerodynamic configurations, analyse tyre strategies and ultimately finalise the car setup for qualifying and Sunday’s Grand Prix.
This overnight simulator work has become an essential component of every Formula 1 weekend because physical testing opportunities remain extremely limited under current regulations. Considering every stage of this engineering process, it becomes much easier to understand why Ferrari’s Madrid filming day carried considerably greater importance than might initially appear. The information gathered allows Ferrari to compare the original LiDAR scan with the actual characteristics of the completed circuit and identify any discrepancies between the virtual model and reality.
Even relatively small differences can significantly improve the simulator’s accuracy before the Spanish Grand Prix weekend officially begins. At the same time, Ferrari will also be able to verify whether the predictive tyre degradation models currently implemented inside the team’s advanced Dynisma simulator accurately correspond to the thermal energy measurements recorded by the sensors installed throughout the Ferrari SF-26 during the filming day.
Although the available mileage remained extremely limited, the track conditions were far from representative, and Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton deliberately adopted a conservative driving approach, the engineering data collected could still prove extremely valuable.
Every lap completed contributes another piece to the puzzle, allowing Ferrari’s engineers to refine simulation models that will continue to evolve over the coming weeks before Formula 1 returns to Madrid. While no one should expect dramatic performance conclusions from a restricted filming day, Ferrari appears to have extracted every possible technical benefit permitted under the regulations.
On paper, that should leave the Maranello team slightly better prepared than many of its rivals when Formula 1 finally arrives at the MadRing for the inaugural Spanish Grand Prix weekend from September 11 to September 13, where every detail, every simulation update and every engineering refinement could ultimately make the difference between victory and defeat.
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