Lewis Hamilton names sole 'benefit' from special Ferrari Madring filming day

Lewis Hamilton has named the only "benefit" Ferrari gathered from its filming day at the Madring ahead of the Spanish GP. 

On July 9th, Hamilton and team-mate Charles Leclerc each drove the 2026 Ferrari in a filming day at F1's newest circuit - the first time F1 machinery had run at the circuit, near to Real Madrid's training centre.

As it was a filming day, Ferrari were unable to put upgrades on the car and had to run on special Pirelli tyres, meaning knowledge was scarce to be gained for the team, but it has at least run the car on a circuit no other F1 team has. 

When questioned about this test and what advantages it brought the team, Hamilton said that the only one was that he now knows "which way the track goes."

"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."

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Lewis Hamilton on Ferrari Madring filming day

Given that it is a new circuit, it will be important for teams to hit the ground running with the set-up, something Hamilton feels Ferrari is strong at.

"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. 

"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. 

"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."