After the SF-23 tests in Barcelona as driver training, Ferrari will return to the track—specifically, the Montmelò circuit—for two days of testing scheduled by Pirelli for the development of the 2026 tires. On the Catalan circuit, McLaren will also be busy, having tested the new generation rain tires at Paul Ricard for the sole supplier. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri completed 840 km with the MCL60, that is, the 2023 single-seater.
Pirelli appeared very satisfied because, for the first time, the wet-weather tests were carried out under repeatable conditions, so the many data collected are valid for making useful comparisons to guide development, especially of the full rain tires, which have so far been the Achilles’ heel of the Italian company’s excellent supply.
While McLaren chose the MCL60 as its mule car, Ferrari has decided to use the SF-24, the car that won five GPs last year, finishing second in the Constructors’ Championship. This choice is spot on because the 2024 car will not be usable except in this specific instance.
On Tuesday the 4th and Wednesday the 5th, the two drivers, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, will be busy. The Englishman will return to the Spanish track where, last Wednesday morning, he had an accident in the final sector of the circuit, causing significant damage to the SF-23.
The lengthy repair prevented Charles Leclerc from getting into the car that afternoon, but it did not stop Antonio Giovinazzi and Dino Beganovic from completing the work plan scheduled for the following day. The details of the crash were kept highly confidential, with efforts made to downplay the incident, even though the impact against the barriers was rather strong, causing, among other things, the breakage of the suspensions.
The Ferrari that will be used in the Pirelli test will be a car substantially different from the one that ended the 2024 season: to accommodate the narrower tires, the Scuderia’s technicians had to modify both the front and rear suspensions and also reduce the aerodynamic load by at least 20%, which is the legislator’s target for the agile single-seaters of 2026.
It is quite evident that this test will not be at all indicative of the strengths and weaknesses of the SF-24: Lewis Hamilton, like Charles Leclerc, will have to perform a blind test—that is, he will follow a work program defined by Mario Isola’s technicians without knowing the compounds and constructions of the tires that will be used in experimental form.
We know Lewis’s idiosyncrasies during tests, but the two-day Iberian session will be important to start evaluating the 2026 tires and to provide feedback to Loic Serra’s technical staff about the driving sensations with the prototype tires. His feedback and that of Charles could prove invaluable in offering Ferrari’s engineers useful insights for the design of project 678.
If setup adjustments are ruled out, following the decision to maintain a stable setup for the two days, Hamilton will have the opportunity to appreciate the qualities of the 066/12 with the latest electronic management not only of the hybrid system, finding a better feel with the clutch release now that the telemetry has acquired all the data from his starts and other important parameters to be fine-tuned in detail.
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