An advantage for Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc: Ferrari film day in Madrid

The data collected by Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in Madrid should, of course, be treated with caution. Although they were allowed to take to the track in this year’s Ferrari SF-26 and complete laps at the Madrid circuit, as it was a filming day, they had to do so in accordance with the rules, using special demonstration tyres provided by Pirelli.

Furthermore, the Maranello-based team was forced to limit themselves to just a few laps. This is because World Championship entrants are only permitted to cover 200 km on each of the two authorised filming days. British Grand Prix winner Leclerc was the first to take to the track. The Monegasque driver thus completed the first lap in a Formula 1 car on the Spanish circuit, where a Grand Prix will be held for the first time in September. His team-mate Hamilton then took to the track.

However, the first Formula 1 star to take to the track at Madrid was not Leclerc, but his former team-mate Carlos Sainz. The current Williams driver, who hails from Madrid, had already put his foot down in a Ford Mustang back in May on the 5.416 km circuit surrounding the IFEMA exhibition centre.

Ferrari film day with dual benefits: track operators also stand to gain

Ferrari’s decision to choose the Madring as the venue for its second film day is a clever move. Although the strict rules governing film days are intended to prevent a team from gaining an advantage by taking part, the benefit for Fred Vasseur’s team is obvious. The data collected can help refine their own simulator models.

However, the film day was also beneficial for the circuit operators. For the first time, they were able to test the facility during a Formula 1 event. The world’s oldest Grand Prix team turned out for the film day with the usual number of team members and equipment.

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Charles Leclerc war ist der Erste, der im GP-Renner auf dem Madring Gas gab

Foto: Madring

Leclerc rückte am Donnerstagmorgen aus

Foto: Madring

Der Monegasse sammelte wertvolle Daten für das Ferrari-Team

Foto: Madring

GP-Star Lewis Hamilton musste sich gedulden, bis er ans Steuer durfte

Foto: Madring

Der siebenfache Weltmeister durfte maximal 100 km zurücklegen

Foto: Madring

Charles Leclerc war ist der Erste, der im GP-Renner auf dem Madring Gas gab

© Madring

It was the second of the two permitted filming days for Ferrari. The Scuderia from Maranello had already used up the first one back in April, when the cancellation of the races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia resulted in a break of several weeks in the World Championship calendar. Both Ferrari stars were in action on that occasion too, taking to the Monza circuit.