Charles Leclerc has confirmed that Ferrari did not experience any "big problems" during its shakedown of the SF-26 in Fiorano.
On Friday morning, the Maranello-based outfit unveiled its 2026 car for the new F1 power unit regulations, before both Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton got their first taste behind the wheel.
Hamilton was the first to run at Ferrari’s Fiorano test track on what was a damp day, although the poor weather did not stop hundreds of Tifosi from making the journey to the circuit.
Fans were already at the track several hours before the launch, in anticipation of Ferrari’s SF-26 unveiling.
Leclerc took over from the seven-time world champion and completed his first mileage in the new car, although he was unable to get a true feeling due to minimal running and the weather conditions.
Nevertheless, everything went according to plan for the Scuderia, with its SF-26 launch being a day full of excitement for Leclerc and all involved at Ferrari.
Speaking on Friday at Fiorano after driving Ferrari's SF-26 for the first time, Leclerc told F1: "Yeah, I’m definitely looking forward to this day every year. However, it’s the kind of day where the main target is to check that everything is working properly and that there are no big problems, which was the case today.
"So that is a positive. But in terms of performance and feeling, it’s too early to say — the conditions aren’t that great either. There’s a lot of fog and a little bit of a wet track as well.
"So it’s not the best conditions to test a car for the first time, but I was very excited because there’s been so much talk and so much work behind the scenes to get to this moment, ready for the car to go around the track normally and check, for the first time, the real sensors on the car to see whether it was doing what we expected.
"So, yeah, it’s been a very exciting moment, especially because, being in Fiorano, there are a lot of Tifosi all around the track, and that adds to that very special feeling."
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