Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton have wasted no time in getting back on track after last weekend's British Grand Prix. The two Ferrari drivers took part in a filming day at the new Madring circuit in Madrid, where they engaged in a fierce battle.
What happened?
As part of a filming day orchestrated and paid for by Ferrari, Hamilton and Leclerc were the first to debut F1 machinery on the recently built Madring track. The brand new circuit and its surrounding facilities have been under construction for over a year, with the organisers admitting with just months to go that they may have to work through the night in order to be finished on time.
Why it matters for Charles Leclerc
Leclerc, who recently won the British Grand Prix, has moved closer to Hamilton in the drivers' standings, with only 11 points separating him from third place. The 28-year-old has now ended his win drought, which lasted 624 days. Having won the ninth round of the championship, Leclerc is looking to build on his momentum.
What comes next?
The Spanish Grand Prix will take place on September 13, with the 14th race weekend of the year beginning with FP1 on Friday, September 11 at 13:30 local time (CEST). The main event will conclude on Sunday, September 13, with lights out at 3pm CEST.
Leclerc and Hamilton have proved the track is more than ready for F1 cars to go racing, with the Scuderia posting a video of the two battling it out on social media. In the clip, Hamilton could be seen in the cockpit of his F1 machinery whilst Leclerc had swapped duties to take on the role of filming car pilot.
As Hamilton raced around the outside of the filming vehicle driven by his team-mate, the Ferrari social media admin appeared to be on edge, captioning the video: "We definitely didn’t get nervous…" With his legend of a team-mate testing him even on a non-competitive filming day, the camera panned round to Leclerc to show the F1 star locked in on the job at hand, warning Hamilton: "LH, don't push me," before letting out laughter.
The Spanish Grand Prix was previously held in Barcelona, but that round has been and gone and was renamed the Barcelona-Catalunya GP to make way for the race in Madrid later this year.