McLaren in the dark on Ferrari Madring run as ‘advantage’ scrutinised

McLaren was not made aware that Ferrari would conduct a filming day at the Madring, the new home of the Spanish Grand Prix.

That is the reveal made by McLaren team principal Andrea Stella. While this may give Ferrari a small “advantage” at the event later this year, Stella believes it will not be a “big deal” once the first race weekend is up and running at the Madring.

McLaren ‘surprise’ over Ferrari Madring filming day

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Ferrari christened the new Madring circuit with a filming day last month. After reports emerged that such an event had taken place, Ferrari later confirmed that Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton had taken to the track.

The Madring will host its first Spanish Grand Prix in September.

When asked about Ferrari’s visit to Madrid by PlanetF1.com and others, McLaren boss Andrea Stella said that it came as a “surprise” to the team, which was “not informed” of Ferrari’s filming day.

It is possible that Ferrari will have gained “a little bit of an advantage” by being the first team to lap the Madring, Stella admits. But, he played down the significance once the race weekend is underway next month.

“We were not informed that Ferrari would have had this session in Madrid,” Stella confirmed.

“Actually, I think some images or filming was anyhow shared with the other teams.

“Independently of the tyres, which are not very representative, and the track conditions will have been like horribly slippery, because it’s just a construction site.

“There’s always a little bit that you can learn. You have some references. Especially with this year’s power units, you get some references such that you don’t start from data that you have to completely assume because nobody has been there.

“So possibly a little bit of an advantage.

“It arrived to us as a surprise, but nothing that goes against the regulations. So we are thankful that at least we can see the track from the on-board.

“I think after a few laps in Madrid, we will have forgotten about that, and we will just get along with just focusing on the race weekend, so not a big deal.”

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McLaren recently enjoyed a potential advantage of its own looking ahead to either the latter stages of F1 2026, or next season.

McLaren conducted a test at the Portimao circuit, amid speculation that it could become the final stop on the F1 2026 calendar.

The venue is already confirmed to feature on the F1 2027 schedule.

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

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Continue reading: McLaren gains early advantage at potential F1 2026 replacement venue