Lewis Hamilton denies that Ferrari gained a big advantage from their filming day at the Madring. The Scuderia is the first team to have driven on the newest circuit on the F1 calendar, but according to the seven-time world champion, the ‘dusty’ construction site was not yet fully representative of how the circuit will feel for the drivers. Still, he is enthusiastic: ‘It looks like a cool circuit, and I love street circuits’.
Read more Valterri Bottas looks back on Cadillac adventure so far: ‘Now at the desired level’
Formula 1 will travel to the Spanish capital Madrid for the first time in September for the new Spanish GP. The Madring, the newest circuit on the F1 calendar, is still under construction, but Ferrari already made the first test laps on the track last month. Without prior warning to the other teams, as McLaren team principal Andrea Stella explains.
“Maybe Ferrari does have a small advantage with that,” said the Italian team principal to the media. “It came as a surprise to us, but it is not against the regulations. So we are grateful that we can at least see the circuit through the onboard footage.” According to Stella, Ferrari’s advantage is also ‘forgotten after a few laps in Madrid’.
Read more How Ferrari smartly benefits from the ADUO rule
Dusty
According to Lewis Hamilton, there was little advantage to be gained for Ferrari during the filming day. The team had to test on demonstration tires and was surrounded by construction work. “We could only do a few laps,” confirmed the seven-time world champion. “It was very, very dusty, as you would expect at a new circuit, and there was no grip. Your tires were basically covered in dust the whole time.”
Still, the Ferrari driver already got a first idea of how a race on the new circuit will go. “The track was about 60 degrees or so, so it looks like it will probably be a circuit where you mainly do qualifying laps,” he continued. “And there aren’t really any straight sections. So it looks like it could be quite a difficult track to overtake on. But it looks like a cool circuit, and I love street circuits. So I can’t wait to really try it out when we go there for the race weekend.”
Read more Honda debunks rumors about Aston Martin engine: ‘That is not the actual power’
Read everything about the Dutch GP in Zandvoort here
