Ferrari admits: Upgrades Spain already tested during film day

Charles Leclerc stepped into his Ferrari earlier this month for an unannounced film day at Monza. It was soon rumoured that Ferrari used the film day, on which a maximum of one hundred kilometres may be driven, to test new updates. Ferrari now admits that this is where the upgrades introduced in Spain were tested for the first time.

Twice a season a team is allowed to hold a film day during which a maximum of one hundred kilometres can be driven each time. Ferrari used such a film day to test the upgrades that were taken to Spain. Besides Ferrari, Mercedes also used a film day during which George Russell drove on the French circuit of Paul Ricard.

For Ferrari at least, the upgrades worked out well, with pole position for Leclerc in Barcelona. In the race, the Monegasque seemed to be driving sovereignly to victory until engine problems threw a spanner in the works. Carlos Sainz eventually finished fourth. Claudio Albertini, responsible for the chassis at Ferrari, says at Motorsport-Total.com that the film day was very useful to see if the team was in the right direction with the new updates.

Once in Barcelona, testing of the upgrades continued. There, Sainz and Leclerc were sent out with different packages during the first free practice session in order to compare the cars as best as possible. The updates proved to work and so both cars received the full package of updates for the rest of the weekend.