Lewis Hamilton has played down the advantage Ferrari gained from its early run at the Madring, admitting that the team’s filming day at Formula 1’s newest circuit provided very little useful information ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix.
Hamilton and Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc drove the 2026 Ferrari at the Madrid circuit on July 9, giving the Italian team an early opportunity to experience a track that no Formula 1 machinery had previously raced on.
However, the session was conducted under filming-day restrictions rather than as a conventional test. Ferrari could not introduce upgrades specifically for the running and was required to use special Pirelli tyres, severely limiting the amount of meaningful performance data the team could collect.
The conditions themselves also made the exercise even less representative of a race weekend.
Asked what Ferrari had learned from the outing, Hamilton offered a blunt assessment, saying the team's only real advantage was becoming familiar with the layout.
"So, I think it's hardly any," Hamilton explained of the benefits Ferrari learned from its Madring filming day to media, including RacingNews365.
"It was dusty, super super dusty; there was zero grip, and we can't change the car because it's not a test; it was filming.
"We weren't even flat out in many of the corners; we were low on power and on grip.
"The benefit, the only thing I've seen is which way the track goes, so honestly, I don't think there are any, to be honest."
Ferrari Still Confident in Simulation Work
Despite dismissing the practical benefits of the filming day, Hamilton believes Ferrari can arrive at the new circuit with a competitive baseline thanks to the team's extensive simulation work.
With no previous Formula 1 race data available from the Madring, teams face the difficult task of establishing the correct car set-up from simulations, limited running and driver feedback.
Hamilton believes Ferrari's preparation should allow it to cope with the uncertainty.
"I think, honestly, the guys do a great job with simulations here and at this team, and so we often arrive with a car in quite a good spot," he said.
The Madring is expected to present teams with a particularly complicated set-up challenge because performance can change significantly with evolving track conditions.
Hamilton pointed to several factors that could affect the balance and behaviour of the cars throughout the weekend.
"It's very sensitive to changes, and you have to take into account wind, track temperature, track grip, constantly ramping up, tyre temps, and all that kind of stuff.
"So I think we'll have a good starting base. There's probably some similarities with these kerbs compared to somewhere like Montreal, where you saw obviously Mercedes was very quick, but there were a lot more straights there as well."
Hamilton Calls Madrid One of F1’s Toughest New Circuits
The Ferrari driver also highlighted the physical and technical demands of the new Madrid layout, placing it alongside the Jeddah circuit in Saudi Arabia among the most difficult new venues he has experienced.
"It's a massively challenging circuit. Like, of all the new tracks that I've gone to, this one and Saudi Arabia are like the two closest in terms of how difficult it was to get on top of the car and find the right lines."
The comments underline the uncertainty facing the entire Formula 1 field as teams prepare to race at a circuit with no previous Grand Prix history.
While Ferrari's filming day gave Hamilton and Leclerc an opportunity to learn the basic character and direction of the track, the restrictions surrounding the session mean the team will still have to solve much of the performance puzzle during the actual Spanish Grand Prix weekend.
For Ferrari, the challenge will be to convert its simulator preparation into a competitive real-world set-up once the track begins to evolve and grip levels improve.