F1 Madrid, Hamilton “attacked” Leclerc
Lewis Hamilton started with good feelings the first Friday of Formula 1 on the new Madrid circuit. The British Ferrari driver mainly used the first session to get familiar with the Madring, finishing fourth and just 84 thousandths behind Charles Leclerc. The pattern repeated in the afternoon: in the Madrid FP2 Sir Lewis stopped 36 thousandths from the time of his Ferrari teammate.
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In the morning Hamilton immediately appeared comfortable on the medium compound, while the switch to softs did not allow him to improve the time reference. The feeling with the soft came in FP2, but the second session confirmed a Ferrari that starts behind Mercedes in the weekend hierarchy.
Hamilton’s words
“This track is fun and the first session was a good starting point for us. As the day went on we struggled a bit more to bring the car into the right performance window, so there are some aspects we need to analyze, especially regarding car balance,” Hamilton explained at the end of the free practice.
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“It’s a new circuit for everyone and today we collected a lot of useful data, which we will analyze tonight. There are definitely positive aspects and we will work to make a step forward ahead of tomorrow’s qualifying,” Hamilton added, looking confidently at the rest of the weekend.
For Hamilton, who completed 50 laps in total, it was important to gain confidence and awareness on a twisty circuit, although he had tested it “exclusively” during the Ferrari filming day. However, it will be crucial to pay maximum attention also to impeding, considering that in both FP1 and FP2 the British driver was involved in some potentially dangerous situations.
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