Ferrari took the covers off their 2026 challenger at Fiorano on Friday, with Lewis Hamilton putting the SF-26 through its paces in an early shakedown at their test track. The Scuderia are hoping that the 2026 rule changes will help them finally break their title drought.
Ferrari took the covers off their 2026 challenger at Fiorano on Friday, with Lewis Hamilton putting the SF-26 through its paces in an early shakedown at their test track.
The Scuderia are hoping that the 2026 rule changes will help them finally break their title drought. Kimi Raikkonen is still the last Ferrari driver to win a world championship, doing so back in 2007, while their most recent constructors’ crown came a year later.
When Hamilton joined Ferrari last year, he spoke about how they already had “every ingredient” needed to compete for titles. But it didn’t take long for team boss Fred Vasseur to see that 2025 wouldn’t be their year. In response, he made the decision to shift all focus away from developing the ’25 car as early as April and put everything into preparing for 2026 instead.
Formula One has undergone its most significant rule changes yet ahead of this season, affecting everything from engines and aerodynamics to chassis design and tyres.
Ted Kravitz Immediately Noticed Lewis Hamilton Using Active Aero On Ferrari’s 2026 F1 Car
Formula 1 also had to adjust the aero regulations to address concerns that drivers might run out of energy on power-demanding circuits or long straights, such as those at Monza. The sport introduced active aero systems on the front and rear wings, which drivers can engage in specific sections of each track.
Kravitz told Sky Sports News: “The launch of any Ferrari is always a very special occasion, but this one really more so. The fans have been up on the hill, and we’ve just seen it. It’s come out of the garage and is now going around this Fiorano track.
“It actually looks smaller. It looks different. There’s a bit more white on the engine cover as part of the team’s visual identity, which has changed a little bit for this year.
“But the thing I’ve noticed straight away is this opening of the rear wing that we’re seeing that all of these cars are going to be doing this year with the new regulations.”
Ted Kravitz notices ‘crisper note’ from Ferrari’s 2026 F1 regulations engine
Like Kravitz, many F1 fans noticed the white engine cover on the SF-26 after Ferrari unveiled Hamilton and Leclerc’s car on Friday. A lot of F1 fans see similarities between Ferrari’s 2026 livery and their 2016 car, in which Sebastian Vettel and Raikkonen failed to win a Grand Prix.
The sound of Ferrari’s 2026 engine also caught Kravitz’s ear, as F1 removing the MGU-H has amplified the noise from the internal combustion engine despite the increase in electrical power. F1 has removed the MGU-H in a bid to reduce costs and the complexity of engines.
“The new engine sound, that’s really different,” Kravitz added. “We started to hear this with the other big team that ran their car yesterday, which is, of course, Mercedes. But now I’m seeing, and more importantly hearing it, on the Ferrari. It really does sound different.
“It sounds louder, it sounds more raspy. Of course, this is to do with the new engines. They’ve changed one of the key components that ran a turbine through the turbocharger; that’s gone. And so the engine does have a crisper note.”
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Category: General Sports
