Ferrari set for extra track time as busy April schedule emerges

Ferrari is set to take to the track three times during the F1 2026 April break, it has emerged, with the first taking place today (Wednesday) at Mugello.

The recent cancellations of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian grands prix has created a five-week gap in the calendar between last weekend’s race in Japan and the next round in Miami on May 3.

Ferrari’s busy April schedule comes to light as F1 2026 season paused

Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust

As reported by PlanetF1.com, it emerged last month that Ferrari has been planning to hold a filming day with its 2026 car during the April break.

It is understood that the team is yet to use any of its two permitted filming days for this season, with the SF-26 car’s post-launch outing at Fiorano in January officially classed as a so-called demonstration event.

As such, Ferrari is thought to be keen to hold a filming day to produce more promotional content for its partners, with its current offering still limited to launch-day material.

Analysis: Japanese Grand Prix

Japanese GP conclusions: Dodgeball on wheels, Verstappen’s rampage, Russell’s Norris test

Kimi Antonelli leads winners and losers as Japanese Grand Prix shifts momentum

It is believed that the filming day will take place at Monza, the home of the Italian Grand Prix, on Wednesday April 22.

The filming day will come after two other private test sessions over the course of this month.

As first reported by Italian outlet Auto Racer on Tuesday, Ferrari is believed to be staging a TPC (Testing of Previous Car) test at Mugello – the venue of the one-off Tuscan Grand Prix of 2020 – across Wednesday and Thursday this week.

Ferrari reserve driver Antonio Giovinazzi is reportedly set to share driving duties behind the wheel of an old Ferrari F1 car on Wednesday with Arthur Leclerc, a former Ferrari junior and the brother of regular driver Charles Leclerc.

Antonio Fuoco, the Ferrari WEC driver who made his first FP1 appearance at last year’s Mexican Grand Prix, is then expected to take over on Thursday.

It is believed that the SF-26 will return to the track a week later for a two-day artificial wet test at Fiorano held across April 9-10.

Ferrari’s decision to hold its filming day at Monza is unlikely to be a coincidence given the high-speed nature of the Italian Grand Prix venue with confirmation of Pirelli’s revised testing plans expected imminently.

With Monza among the most demanding circuits on the F1 2026 calendar for energy management, the outing is likely to help Ferrari further optimise its power unit as it bids to close the gap to the dominant Mercedes team.

As reported by PlanetF1.com, Lewis Hamilton recently identified straight-line speed as a significant factor behind Mercedes’ current advantage over the opposition.

And he admitted that Ferrari must find gains on the engine side to maintain its positive start to the season.

Asked where Mercedes’ current edge is showing on track, Hamilton explained: “It seems mostly on the straight, so I think it would be at the moment everywhere on the straights.

“It seems more so when they open up the ESM – that’s when they take a huge step, so whatever’s going in that phase is an area we need to understand.

“They seem to have a little bit more deployment, so less de-rating at the end of the straights than some of us.

“So we’ve just got to work on trying to see how we can eke out more from our engine.”

Additional reporting by Mat Coch

Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.

You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!

Read next: Is Lewis Hamilton back? Not so fast