Ferrari to make F1 history this week after triggering second part of rule that all teams must follow
Ferrari will make a piece of F1 history later this week when they fulfil their second and final part of a requirement for this season.
The Scuderia have won two of the last three Grands Prix, with Lewis Hamilton taking the chequered flag in Barcelona and Charles Leclerc doing likewise at Silverstone.
For both drivers, it was their first wins since the 2024 season, with Ferrari having gone on a barren run throughout what was a difficult 2025 campaign.
Hamilton sits in third place in the Drivers' Championship, 43 points behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli - though that gap was cut from 58 points on Sunday after a wheel shield issue for Antonelli, coupled with a five-second time penalty for exceeding track limits, dropped him out of the points.
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There are still concerns for the Italian team, though, with their surprising lack of pace in Austria - sandwiched between their two wins - put down to performance levels and also tyre temperature issues by team principal Frederic Vasseur.
Formula 1 has an upcoming free weekend, with the Belgian Grand Prix taking place on July 19.
Ferrari, therefore, are deciding to use that time to fulfil their second filming day - and will stage the test at a brand-new location on Thursday, July 9.
Motorsport.com report that both Leclerc and Hamilton will take to Madrid's Madring, which will host an F1 race for the first time in September when it stages the Madrid Grand Prix.
The 5.4-kilometre circuit, which combines a mix of public and private roads, runs around Madrid's IFEMA Exhibition Centre.
Construction work is not yet fully complete, but the FIA stated that 'everything is on track' after visiting the circuit for an update in May.
One of the stand-out parts of the circuit is a 0.5km-long banked corner, where the banking level stands at 24 per cent. Cars travel along the corner at speeds of up to 250km/h continuously for around six seconds.
READ MORE: Madrid GP first flying lap emerges including 'insane' corner ahead of F1 debut
Hamilton and Leclerc will become the first drivers to take to the Madring in an F1 car, with Carlos Sainz having driven laps of the circuit in a road car earlier this year.
What is a F1 filming day?
F1 teams are permitted two filming days a year, in which they are allowed to use their current-spec car for up to 200 kilometres of distance.
That would equate to 36 laps of the Madring between the two cars but, although the track is not yet finished, it will still provide Ferrari and their two race drivers with valuable experience and knowledge of how the track might behave.
One thing that teams will not have to be worried about in Madrid, bearing in mind it is being held three months later than the other Grand Prix in Spain at Barcelona, is the weather conditions.
The average temperature in Madrid remains largely stable in September in comparison to June, which is when the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix is staged.
Ferrari will hope to become the last F1 team until at least 2028 to win two races in the same season in Spain, as the Barcelona-Catalunya will now alternate in even-numbered years with the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps.
Topics: Formula 1, Ferrari, Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton
Ryan Smart