Ferrari left Friday practice at the 2026 F1 Barcelona-Catalunya GP with mixed feelings after introducing new parts on a difficult day for tyres and track grip.
Charles Leclerc finished FP1 inside the top three, behind George Russell and Oscar Piastri, as Russell set the pace with a 1:16.363. Ferrari then remained near the front in FP2, with Leclerc moving up to second during the qualifying simulations before Lando Norris, Russell and Piastri ended the session as the top three.
However, both Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton suggested Ferrari still needed more time to judge its upgrades and overall competitiveness.
Leclerc said the team had made progress with the new items, but he warned that Ferrari’s rivals still appeared to hold an advantage.
“It was an interesting day. We have a few new items on the car and we’ve made a step forward. Regarding competitiveness, it’s too early to say and I think our competitors are quite a bit ahead of us.
“We have to focus on maximising what we have now and we will see what we can do tomorrow.”
Vasseur says first upgrade data looked positive
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur also offered a cautious but encouraging first assessment of the team’s new package. While he said the early numbers looked good, he stressed that Barcelona’s conditions made evaluation more complex.
“Yeah, the first data are good now. We know also that Barcelona, it’s a very difficult track with these conditions. It’s a lot about tyres, probably more about tyres than something else.
“And we have also to put our focus on tyre preparation and outlap and so, but so far the data are good.”
Vasseur added that the tyre window remained narrow for every team, not just Ferrari. With high temperatures and demanding conditions, he said small errors could quickly turn into a major loss of performance.
“Yeah, you know that we are in this extreme situation, but I think it was probably extreme on the other side last week, not two weeks ago in Canada, or two weeks ago in Canada. When we are so extreme that it’s very easy to go on the wrong side and to have a nightmare.
“We are really on the edge and I think it’s true for us, but it’s true for everybody with this situation.”
Hamilton struggles with grip and tyre life
Hamilton endured a more limited day and said the conditions made it difficult to draw firm conclusions. He described the grip level as unusually low and pointed to high tyre pressures as one of the main challenges.
“Very hot, obviously. Very tough. We got very high pressures.
“Probably the lowest grip that we’ve had here in, I would say, any year that I’ve been here. The tyres only last one lap, so I’d say two laps.”
Hamilton also reported an issue during running, after suggesting over the radio that something felt as if it was dragging on the car. He later explained that Ferrari had encountered a problem with the straight line mode system.
“Yeah, we had a problem. The SM wasn’t working. The front SM wasn’t working.”
Ferrari brought new parts to Barcelona, but Hamilton said he could not yet judge whether they had delivered the intended step.
“Too early to say, yeah.
“I couldn’t really feel much. As I said, we only had two laps, really. So we did the first lap, all the other laps afterwards, the tyres are done, so…”
Beganovic gains valuable Ferrari mileage in FP1
Dino Beganovic also featured in Ferrari’s Friday programme as he completed FP1 running for the team. With the car and power unit new to him, the F1 practice session gave the Ferrari junior valuable experience around the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Beganovic said the opening part of the session focused on adapting to the car before he built confidence later on, especially when he switched to the soft tyre.
“I’m really happy with my free practice session today. The whole car and PU were new to me, so the first part was all about learning and getting up to speed. I felt a big difference going from used Mediums to the Softs, and I really enjoyed my last run on that compound. I’m satisfied with the steps I made over the course of the session and it gives me lots of new experience to take with me.
“I want to thank Scuderia Ferrari for the support. It’s always special to jump in the car and work with this team, and I hope to have the opportunity to do so again soon.”
Ferrari looks to maximise Saturday
Ferrari’s Friday offered signs of progress, but the team did not leave Barcelona with a clear picture of where it stood. Leclerc felt the upgrades had moved the car forward, while Hamilton’s limited representative running and tyre struggles left him cautious.
With Mercedes and McLaren showing strong pace across the first two sessions, Ferrari turned its attention to extracting the maximum from its updated package ahead of qualifying.
