Lewis Hamilton was back behind the wheel for Ferrari as part of Pirelli tyre testing duties at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
And while Hamilton had the slight edge over Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc in this blind tyre test, it was McLaren’s Lando Norris who topped the timings.
After Ferrari’s quick wake-up run at their Fiorano test track, Hamilton experienced his first extensive running at the wheel of a Ferrari as he and team-mate Charles Leclerc headed to Barcelona for a three-day test. However, the programme did not quite go as planned.
With Hamilton in the SF-23 for the morning session of day two, a reversal of the run plan from the opening day, the track action was halted when Hamilton suffered a shunt at Turn 12, inflicting bodywork and suspension damage which cost Leclerc the chance to complete his planned afternoon running.
For the final day, Ferrari reserve Antonio Giovinazzi and Driver Academy racer Dino Beganovic took over at the wheel.
However, Leclerc was back in action alongside Hamilton on Tuesday as a two-day test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya got underway. It was Ferrari’s 2024 challenger, the SF-24, which was at their disposal this time in a test dictated by Pirelli as F1’s tyre manufacturer work on their 2026 slick compounds.
Joining the Ferrari duo in Barcelona was McLaren’s Lando Norris who manned the MCL60 and set the fastest time of a 1:15.21, completing 159 laps, while Hamilton was second on this particular leaderboard, delivering 87 laps with a best time of a 1:15.93, 0.13s faster than Leclerc’s best with the Monegasque racer completing 86 laps of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Ferrari and McLaren used modified versions of their respective challengers, with the FIA clearing teams to drop roughly 20 per cent of downforce from the cars in modifying them to better represent the challengers which will be formed from the new F1 2026 regulations.
In one of Formula 1’s biggest regulatory shake-ups yet, new chassis and power unit rules will come into force from F1 2026.
The FIA’s regulations on mule cars state: “Cars must include and are limited to the minimal modifications necessary for the purpose of testing development tyres or for testing components or systems on behalf of the FIA for future championship seasons, as determined by the FIA.
“No test parts, test software or component changes will be permitted which give any sort of information to the competitor that is unrelated to the mule car test unless specifically requested by the FIA.”
A report from autoracer.it claimed that Ferrari also had their SF-23 in action in Barcelona on Tuesday so that Leclerc could make up for his previously missed running.
Both Ferrari and McLaren will continue their Pirelli tyre testing duties at the circuit on Wednesday.
