Although some media outlets claim that Lewis Hamilton was faster than Charles Leclerc during the Pirelli tyre tests in Barcelona, it was Leclerc who had the fastest time of the day…
While the drivers tested the rain tyres last week, it was now the turn of the 2026 slicks. As is tradition, Pirelli has barely shared any comprehensible information about the event, but the times have been published. Moreover, it was noted that they should be treated with a great deal of caution, which is why the above excitement is incomprehensible. Although Hamilton was indeed in the lead on the first day of testing with the participation of Scuderia Ferrari and McLaren, taking into account today's times - purely statistically - Charles Leclerc can be considered the winner. After different tactics, programs and distances, at the end of the two days Leclerc was the fastest (1:14.971), ahead of Oscar Piastri (1:15.815) and his teammate Lewis Hamilton (1:16.759).
In terms of distance covered, Piastri was the busiest (152 laps), followed by the Ferrari duo on 74 laps each. Pirelli has had productive days, as each of the competitors ran at least one race stage of the Spanish Grand Prix today. The 13-14 continues in Jerez, where Alpine, Mercedes and McLaren will continue their work.
Photo: F1
