As Formula One’s most historic and successful team, Ferrari are persistently under the microscope more than any other competitor. In 2025, the decision was made to abandon the in season car development of the SF-25 after just six race weekends to the disappointment of both Lewis Hamilton and. Charles Leclerc.
The lack of upgrades took its toll during the second half of the year, as the Scuderia slipped from a comfortable second place in the constructors’ championship to a distant fourth come the season finale in Abu Dhabi. Whilst the SF-25 was a difficult car to drive, Charles Leclerc managed to rack up seven podiums across the season, although five of these were tellingly before the summer break.
Lewis Hamilton’s blockbuster move to Maranello ended in huge disappointment as the seven times world champion for the first time in his illustrious F1 career failed to make the podium on Sunday even once. Now the hopes of the tifosi are pinned on the extra time and resources Ferrari committed to the 2026 project and that the team will emerge as a front running contender.
Ferrari’s big reveal cock up
Yet the same old Ferrari organisation has turned up in 2026. Last week announcing Hamilton’s race engineer, Riccardo Adami, would be benched but as pre-season testing approaches no replacement has been appointed. The four and a half days Hamilton will now have in the Scuderia’s 2026 competitor will see Charles Leclerc’s engineer in his ear.
This is clearly less than ideal given the valuable time lost for Lewis and his new engineer to bond. Today Ferrari again demonstrated their shambolic organisation as they revealed their all new 2026 challenger online. The renders were immediately clear to be of the 2025 car which delivered zero victories in a season of woe.
The tifosi were quick to comment on the error and the uninspiring text associated with the pictures of the 2025 car which stated: “The 72nd (sic) Formula 1 car for Scuderia Ferrari HP is the first designed under the new regulations.”
When someone in Maranello woke up to their mistake, the renders were swiftly replaced with those relating to the 2026 car. The livery is striking and the engine cover is now completely white which resembles the car which Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen drove back in 2016. Ominously the SF-16 from ten years ago failed to win a Grand Prix, and so associating this year’s machine with that of 2016 appears to be another faux par in Maranello’s PR division.
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2026 F1 engines sound louder
Whilst the ‘test’ was a private affair at the Ferrari owned Fiorano circuit, the proximity to public roads and a nearby bank meant the tifosi were out in force. One fan commenting on the Scueria’s reveal posted on X, ” Welcome back SF16-H,” while another noted, “2016 vibes.”
The removal of the V6 heat recovery systems for this year means the cars now sound louder, although nothing like the V8’s which preceded there hybrid era. Ted Kravitz of Sky noted: “The new engine sound, that’s really different. 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,” observed the Sky F1 pit lane reporter.
As if to add to Ferrari’s recent shambolic PR, Lewis Hamilton appeared to break down on track after just a handful of laps. Pictures quickly emerged of the stricken Ferrari being recovered by mechanics running from the garage. Hardly an image the team wishes to project with a huge year ahead of the team.
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Hamilton ‘breaks down’ on track?
One fan’s video showed Hamilton stopped on track on the short main straight, starting to move again but travelling just a few metres, before stopping again. Another appeared to show the car stopped at an unusual angle right before the pit lane entry with Hamilton attempting to return to the pits at a strange angle.
However, when considering the angles from where they were shot, both videos in fact relate to the same incident. After a single installation lap, Hamilton completed a two-lap run, one behind a camera car and one separately. He finished that run with a practice start, then stopped on track and was recovered to the garage by the team.
A Ferrari spokesman has since revealed there were “no issues” with the car and the stoppage was required due to the nature of the event. The team claim this was a ‘demonstration event’ often used to promote F1 with fans around the world in cars more than two seasons old. Other teams have been using one of their two days a year of ‘filming day’ allowance, which allows the cars to run for 200km on the day.
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More Ferrari PR failures
A demonstration event is restricted to just 15km and around Fiorano this equates to around five laps. Hamilton completed an installation lap, followed by one behind a ‘filming car’ together with a third and a practice start. The car was then removed before Charles Leclerc replacing his team mate and completing the final two laps allowed by the FIA.
Once again, Ferrari’s chaotic PR team failed to brief the media and fans properly and for a while it appeared their efforts since April last season had ended first time out in failure. What was immediately clear is that the lines of the 2026 Ferrari challenger are not pretty.
The Scuderia were once known for their ‘beautiful cars’ such as Niki Lauda’s 312T and the 621 from 1990 together with the early 2000’s cars which fans loved. Yet the 2026 offering will win no beauty contest. However, as Ferrari’s founder Enzo used to say, he didn’t care how the car looked so long as its fast.
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A tale as old as time in Formula One Racing erupted just before Christmas as the teams geared up for huge new regulation changes for both chassis and powertrains. Unlike Indycar, Formula One is not a ‘spec’ series which means each of the teams takes on a tome of specifications issued by the FIA and designs its own interpretation of the rules.
From the ground effect cars of the late 1970’s, to the Williams genius designs with sophisticated electronic aids such as active suspension in the 1990’s and more recently the Brawn double diffuser (2009), McLaren’s “F-Duct” (2010) and Red Bull’s exhaust blown diffusers (2010-2013), the F1 engineers with rocket science like vision a renown for finding loopholes in any new rules which can be exploited for their advantage.
With one of the biggest technical specifications rule changes in the history of the sport coming this season, its no wonder that once again certain teams will push the boundaries of the conundrum set for them by the FIA….READ MORE
A.J. Hunt is Senior Editor at TJ13, where Andrew oversees editorial standards and contributes to the site’s Formula 1 coverage. A career journalist with experience in both print and digital sports media, Andrew trained in investigative journalism and has written for a range of European sports outlets.
At TJ13, Andrew plays a central role in shaping the site’s output, working across breaking news, analysis, and long-form features. Andrew’s responsibilities include fact-checking, refining editorial structure, and ensuring consistency in reporting across a fast-moving news cycle.
Andrew’s work focuses particularly on the intersection of Formula 1 politics, regulation, and team strategy. Andrew closely follows developments involving the FIA, team leadership, and driver market dynamics, helping to provide context behind the sport’s biggest stories.
With experience covering multiple seasons of Formula 1’s modern hybrid era, Andrew has developed a detailed understanding of how regulatory changes and competitive shifts influence the grid. Andrew’s editorial approach prioritises clarity and context, aiming to help readers navigate complex developments within the sport.
In addition to editorial duties, Andrew is particularly interested in how media narratives shape fan perception of Formula 1, and how reporting can balance speed with accuracy in an increasingly digital news environment.
It’s 15 kilometers and thus ~5 laps in total. Leclerc also drove, so nothing to see here
Ferrari maximized the demo allowance and still have a filming day in their pocket
Factually debunked… I’d like to say “do better”, but this is the ‘judge’ so won’t