The Scuderia Ferrari began its first day of private testing in Barcelona with a resolutely methodical approach. Although the weather did not offer ideal conditions, with light rain falling in the morning, this in no way disrupted the Italian team's planned program. At the wheel of the brand-new Ferrari SF-26, Charles Leclerc was able to take his first laps in this shakedown behind closed doors, with a clear objective: to understand the car, not to seek immediate performance. Interviewed by F1The Monegasque was keen to put things into perspective: despite the sometimes damp track, Ferrari was able to carry out its plan without a hitch. The most important thing, in his opinion, was elsewhere. The main purpose of this first outing was to check that the many new systems integrated into the SF-26 were working properly, a must at this very early stage of the season.
A Ferrari SF-26 with no nasty surprises
In this respect, the results were encouraging. Charles Leclerc was satisfied with the car's overall behavior, confirming that everything was running to plan. The morning was free of any notable technical problems, a positive sign for Ferrari at this stage of development. On the dry track, Leclerc set an unofficial time of 1'20''8, slightly behind Max Verstappen and the Red Bull RB22, credited with a 1'20''0. These lap times should be taken with a grain of salt, as the teams are concentrating on data collection, aerodynamics and management of the new powertrains, rather than pure speed. The session was briefly interrupted by Verstappen's spin, the only incident of the morning. With no consequences for the Red Bull, the test quickly resumed.
Rain as a life-size test
As predicted by the weather forecast, the rain appeared at around 10:30. A further opportunity for Ferrari to validate the SF-26's behavior in tricky conditions. Fitted with rain tires, recognizable by their wide grooves and blue stripe, Charles Leclerc saw his times soar initially, before gradually reducing them as the track dried out. In total, the Monegasque driver completed around 50 laps, approaching a full Grand Prix distance on the Montmeló track. This volume of driving enabled Ferrari to accumulate valuable information, all the more important as Leclerc was the first to drive the SF-26 this week.
A season full of opportunities according to Leclerc
Over and above the figures and laps covered, it's Charles Leclerc's speech that really catches the eye. The Ferrari driver is already looking ahead to what's to come, with a certain amount of excitement. He's looking forward to seeing what the other teams have in store when testing becomes more representative, and everyone starts pushing harder. For Leclerc, the coming season could reshuffle the cards. He believes that the current context offers every team a real opportunity to make a difference, perhaps even to widen the gaps more than in recent years. A statement that reflects a cautious but very real optimism.
"Bringing Ferrari back to the top
Finally, the Monegasque made no secret of his ambition. Whatever Ferrari's starting point this season, the objective remains unchanged: to push as hard as possible to bring the Scuderia back to the top of Formula 1.
"I'm very excited. I can't wait to see what the others have in store and, when we start pushing a bit more, to see where we stand in relation to the others. I think this year is a great opportunity for all the teams to do something different and maybe get a bigger advantage than we've seen in recent years. I hope we'll be the team that manages to make the difference, but whatever our start, we'll be pushing as hard as we can to try and get Ferrari back to the top. It's already been several years, so I hope this year will be ours."
The Prancing Horse stretches its legs in Barcelona! 🐎
- Formula 1 (@F1) January 27, 2026
Ferrari lap the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the first time this year 💨#F1 pic.twitter.com/xLPKEA7ahp
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