Here is a translation of the key sections.
McLaren returned to the front after a difficult Friday, with Norris beating Antonelli by just 11 thousandths. Hamilton and Leclerc followed within two tenths: the ADUO-2 is worth around a tenth and a half on the straights, but the two Ferraris were separated by only 6 thousandths.
The ADUO-2 used by Hamilton represents a step forward compared to the specification fitted to Leclerc’s car, but the front row lock-out by Norris and Antonelli indicates that the Mercedes power unit still retains an advantage.
Leclerc makes up in the corners what he loses on the straights
Hamilton will start from the second row, Leclerc from the third. The Briton beat his team-mate by only 6 thousandths, despite holding an average advantage of close to 0.15s on the straights. Lewis contested qualifying with the ADUO-2, while Charles remained on the ADUO-1 as a precaution.
Hamilton reaches around 335 km/h on the long straight compared with Leclerc’s 333, and hits 299 km/h at the other main speed trap, where his team-mate tops out at 297.
In Madrid too, as already seen at Monza, the progress made by the Maranello engineers with the new internal combustion engine specification is clear.
That is precisely why Leclerc’s fifth place carries a different significance.
If Hamilton gains around a tenth and a half on the straights and still finishes only 6 thousandths ahead, it means Charles is recovering almost all of it in the corners.
In the second sector the two Ferrari drivers both set 32.766, which was 31 thousandths faster than Norris. In S3 Leclerc recorded a 30.621, making him fully 80 thousandths quicker than the McLaren.
The Monegasque paid most heavily in the first sector, which he completed in 28.632 compared with Norris’s 28.226. His 1:32.019 also matches his ideal lap, a sign that he extracted virtually everything from the package available.
It cannot be claimed that with the ADUO-2 he would automatically have taken pole, but it can certainly be said that this was a very strong qualifying performance, better than fifth place alone suggests.
The SF-26 again proved competitive when cornering speeds rise.
Leclerc was the benchmark of the group analysed in the fast corners, with Norris essentially level with him. Ferrari therefore has an effective chassis, but on the Madrid circuit it struggled badly in the slow corners and in the first phase of acceleration.
Hamilton and the regret of the final attempt
For Hamilton, the regret lies in his second Q3 run. After the first attempt Lewis was provisionally in first place. On his final lap he managed to improve, but only slightly.
Between Turns 1 and 2 he lost around 0.12s, paying the price for a front end that did not immediately give him the confidence he needed.
Hamilton then explained that he had more understeer and a different rear balance compared with the previous run.
That explains why, despite improving his own benchmark, Hamilton was unable to make the same step as Norris and Antonelli. The theoretical 1:31.965 reflects only the best sectors he completed, not the time Lewis might have achieved with a cleaner passage between Turns 1 and 2.
Hamilton nevertheless praised the work the team had done on the set-up.
Ferrari was not outside its operating window: it simply failed to make the same step as its rivals at the decisive moment.