Lewis Hamilton names fresh target as Ferrari undergo tough Madring 'exercise'

Lewis Hamilton is targetting improvements to the balance of his Ferrari at the Spanish Grand Prix, as boss Fred Vasseur spoke of the "good exercise" the engineers were experiencing.

Hamilton finished fourth and third, respectively in the two practice sessions on Friday at the Madring, and was just over a tenth slower than FP2 pace-setter Kimi Antonelli. 

With the tight 90-degree point and squirt corners and the chicanes, the Madring is a layout tipped towards the strengths of the Ferrari, with Hamilton believing the team had a strong "starting point" but wants improvements heading into FP3 and qualifying. 

One such was how the car seemed to get "more difficult" as the day progressed, with qualifying due to take place 24 hours after FP2. 

"It’s a fun track to drive, and FP1 was a good starting point for us," Hamilton explained.

"As the day went on, we found it a little more difficult to get the car in the right window, so there are a few things for us to look into, particularly around the balance. 

"It’s a new circuit for everyone and we gathered plenty of useful data, which we’ll go through.

"There are definitely some positives to take, and we’ll work to make a step forward ahead of qualifying."

The article continues below. 

Ferrari set for "good exercise"

His Ferrari boss Vasseur then spoke of the "good exercise" the engineers are having in trying to simulate the best energy management for the lap, given the track evolution is expected to be huge, even through qualifying. 

"I think the good setup is the setup that will work in qualifying, not in free practice," said Vasseur.

"We know that we'll have a huge track evolution even during the session. The most important thing is to anticipate the grip in Q3 and to be ready for Q3. It makes no sense to be the best in free practice and not in qualifying.

"It's a challenge as you approximately have all the types of corners of the season, and it's a good exercise for the engineers. 

"But at the end, it's also difficult to estimate what the grip evolution will be between FP3 and qualifying, and even during qualifying, that means that energy deployment is complicated with the high-speed section, and I think that's what will be key is to estimate the pace in Q3."