Ferrari off the podium again in Madrid
In Madrid, Ferrari tried to make up for a poor qualifying by differentiating the strategies between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, hoping to exploit possible race variables. A gamble that did not pay off due to technical problems that knocked out the Englishman and the absence of a Safety Car in the second part of the GP.
Read more Leclerc: “It was a fine race, we were expecting a miracle, but it didn’t come”
In particular, Ferrari tried to build an alternative race with Leclerc, not stopping under the Virtual Safety Car and hoping for a red flag. The neutralization did not come, but team principal Frederic Vasseur emphasized that the pace of the SF-26 was still positive.
Ferrari, Vasseur’s words after the Madrid GP
“We were not lucky. Charles did a great stint on the hard tires. We all expected at least two Safety Cars, but it didn’t go that way. At least we tried and the pace was very good,” said the Ferrari team principal to Sky Sport F1. “With a second Safety Car we would have fought for first place, but instead we had to settle for P4.”
Read more Antonelli: “It was not the way I would have wanted to win. I feel sorry for Norris”
Vasseur then praised Leclerc’s race management, called to maintain a precise pace “in the dark,” without having a complete picture of the race progress: “We imposed a pace on him and he was replicating it perfectly. He did an excellent job, very solid, he didn’t make a single mistake in 49 laps on hard tires, pushing like crazy. I think we did our best. Hamilton? We still don’t know the problem, but it was related to the brakes and we decided to stop him because it’s too dangerous here.”
Considering Leclerc’s P4 and Hamilton’s zero, Ferrari loses points in both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships. Now the Englishman is 101 points behind Antonelli, while the Scuderia is 145 points behind Mercedes.
Read more 2026 Constructors’ Championship: the standings after the Spanish GP
