Lewis Hamilton found plenty of positives in Ferrari’s opening day at the Madrid Grand Prix, but believes the SF-26 still needs another step before Saturday’s crucial qualifying session. The seven-time world champion finished fourth in FP1 before moving up to third in FP2, ending the afternoon just 0.036 seconds behind Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc.
Hamilton appeared comfortable from his first laps around the new Madring circuit, using the opening session primarily to build confidence and learn the layout. He finished FP1 only 0.084 seconds behind Charles Leclerc before the gap between the two Ferrari drivers narrowed even further later in the day, as reflected in the Madrid GP FP2 qualifying simulations.
Lewis Hamilton stays close to Charles Leclerc in Madrid
Lewis Hamilton immediately looked comfortable on the medium compound during the morning session, although switching to the soft tyre did not allow him to improve his benchmark lap time. His feeling on the softer compound improved in FP2, when Ferrari made progress over a single lap.
However, the second session also reinforced the early impression that Ferrari begins the weekend behind Mercedes in the competitive order. Charles Leclerc finished second in FP2 while Lewis Hamilton took third, with only 0.036 seconds separating the two SF-26 cars.
Ferrari’s Friday programme was particularly important because the Madring is new to Formula 1 and offers teams little relevant historical data. The Maranello squad has therefore been working through its set-up options, including different aerodynamic choices for the Madrid circuit, while both drivers learn how grip levels develop around the new layout.
Lewis Hamilton says Ferrari must improve SF-26 balance
“This track is fun and the first session was a good starting point for us. As the day went on, we struggled a little more to get the car into the right performance window, so there are some areas we need to analyse, particularly in terms of the car balance,” Lewis Hamilton explained after Friday practice.
The Ferrari driver nevertheless believes the team gathered useful information throughout the two sessions and sees a foundation on which to build before qualifying.
“It’s a new circuit for everyone and today we collected a lot of useful data, which we’ll analyse this evening. There are definitely some positives and we’ll work to take another step forward ahead of tomorrow’s qualifying,” Lewis Hamilton added, looking ahead confidently to the rest of the weekend.
The performance window of the SF-26 will therefore be one of Ferrari’s main areas of focus overnight. On a circuit where the surface and grip level are evolving rapidly, achieving the correct balance at the exact moment qualifying begins could prove more important than simply producing a strong Friday classification.
Hamilton’s filming-day experience offered only limited preparation
For Lewis Hamilton, who completed 50 laps across Friday’s two sessions, the priority was to build confidence and understanding around the twisting Madrid circuit. Unlike most of the grid, he had already driven the Madring during Ferrari’s filming day, although that earlier experience did not remove the need to learn the circuit properly under Grand Prix weekend conditions.
Lewis Hamilton himself had already played down Ferrari’s filming-day advantage before the Madrid GP, and Friday offered a much more representative opportunity to understand the SF-26 around the new venue.
Another area demanding particular attention is traffic management. Lewis Hamilton was involved in several potentially dangerous impeding situations during both FP1 and FP2, underlining the need for drivers and teams to remain especially alert as the field prepares for qualifying.
Ferrari therefore ends Friday with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton closely matched and several encouraging indications, but also with work still to do. Hamilton’s assessment was positive without being complacent: the SF-26 has shown potential at the Madring, yet improving the car’s balance and getting it into the correct performance window will be essential if Ferrari is to take another step when qualifying begins.
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