Ferrari SF-26

[Badger]

The video I shared at the 4 minute mark has exactly the same noise, I wasn't confused about a drone or something, I still call it a very loud electric whine, particularly loud during braking and corner entry, then goes away mid corner and comes back on throttle.

That's a drone. You can literally here the pitch change as it passes by.

We're definitely going to disagree, this haas video by bozzi, who always has impeccable sound quality, has the exact same noise.

You'll have to specify when you are hearing it in the Haas video. At the 4 minute mark of the F1 video you posted is definitely a drone sound.

[deadhead]

Definitely electric motor whine/sound which is to be expected?

I doubt the electric motor is developed/built in house so do we know who their supplier is?

[PlatinumZealot]

I saw another footage and yeah, the sound I heard was indeed coming from a drone flying over the car.

I think it is the electric motor.

Min 2:51, 3:00 and 5:47, going into the hairpin and accelerating out of it, it makes a very strange sound.

And you are probably right. Ferrari appears to control the MGU-K most aggressively. And that is what causes this. When braking, the MGU-K operates in generator mode and recovers kinetic energy via negative torque on the crankshaft. When accelerating again, it switches to motor mode almost without delay and provides positive torque.This rapid change in torque and current direction leads to high-frequency switching and pulse width modulation components in the power electronics, as well as electromagnetic forces in the MGU-K, which can manifest acoustically as an electrical howling noise. This noise is apparantly more noticeable in the 2026 Ferrari because the MGU-K is probably controlled more aggressively (steeper torque gradients, higher recuperation power) and the selected inverter switching frequencies and their harmonics are in the audible range. At the same time, acoustic masking by the combustion engine and exhaust system is reduced, so that these effects become clearly audible, especially in low gears and at low engine loads, while other vehicles are less noticeable due to smoother control strategies or stronger NVH measures.

I would wager It's a mechanical noise from the motor not the elecronics. Electronic switching noise doesn't sound so smooth and is at a way higher pitch. The bus frequency of switching in electric motors drives is way over 20kHz which we hear as a very "tinny" sound that we can barely hear.

[sucof]

That's a drone. You can literally here the pitch change as it passes by.

We're definitely going to disagree, this haas video by bozzi, who always has impeccable sound quality, has the exact same noise.

You'll have to specify when you are hearing it in the Haas video. At the 4 minute mark of the F1 video you posted is definitely a drone sound.

I am an audio engineer, trust me it is Not a drone.
It is completely in sync with the engine and the car, by its pitch and its distance.
And it is also logical, this years cars have a much stronger electric motor, which is driven by PWM technology, and that makes electric motors whine, following its RPM.

[Andi76]

I think it is the electric motor.

Min 2:51, 3:00 and 5:47, going into the hairpin and accelerating out of it, it makes a very strange sound.

And you are probably right. Ferrari appears to control the MGU-K most aggressively. And that is what causes this. When braking, the MGU-K operates in generator mode and recovers kinetic energy via negative torque on the crankshaft. When accelerating again, it switches to motor mode almost without delay and provides positive torque.This rapid change in torque and current direction leads to high-frequency switching and pulse width modulation components in the power electronics, as well as electromagnetic forces in the MGU-K, which can manifest acoustically as an electrical howling noise. This noise is apparantly more noticeable in the 2026 Ferrari because the MGU-K is probably controlled more aggressively (steeper torque gradients, higher recuperation power) and the selected inverter switching frequencies and their harmonics are in the audible range. At the same time, acoustic masking by the combustion engine and exhaust system is reduced, so that these effects become clearly audible, especially in low gears and at low engine loads, while other vehicles are less noticeable due to smoother control strategies or stronger NVH measures.

I would wager It's a mechanical noise from the motor not the elecronics. Electronic switching noise doesn't sound so smooth and is at a way higher pitch. The bus frequency of switching in electric motors drives is way over 20kHz which we hear as a very "tinny" sound that we can barely hear.

The truth probably lies somewhere in between, or in both, depending on your point of view.

You’re right that classic switching frequencies of modern inverters are typically well above 20 kHz and therefore not directly audible. However, what we hear in cases like this is usually not the fundamental switching frequency itself, but its sidebands, sub-harmonics and torque ripple effects that are coupled into the mechanical structure.

During very aggressive transitions between generator and motor mode — especially with steep torque gradients — the MGU-K produces rapidly changing electromagnetic forces. These forces excite mechanical components (rotor, shaft, gears, mounts), which then radiate sound in the audible range. So while the origin is electrical (current direction changes, PWM modulation, control strategy), the radiated noise is often mechanical-acoustic in nature.

In addition, inverter control strategies can deliberately use variable or spread-spectrum switching frequencies, and their interaction with motor slotting, pole count and structural resonances can easily result in smooth, tonal sounds well below 20 kHz. This is a well-known phenomenon in high-performance electric drives.

The reason it stands out more on the Ferrari (if we assume its not the drones) is likely the combination of very aggressive MGU-K control, high recuperation power, and reduced acoustic masking from the ICE/exhaust — not that Ferrari is suddenly using “audible” switching frequencies per se.

So in short: the noise is mechanically emitted, but very plausibly electrically excited, which is why it correlates so strongly with MGU-K operation rather than with purely mechanical drivetrain behavior.

[Farnborough]

The gear sets used in F1 are all straight cut for transmission, they scream and howl like this under load with ease, not ordinarily heard against ICE with max load exhaust output.

That'll make significant part of this noise on regeneration now as its running load in large quantities back through the whole transmission with exhaust noise reduced during this phase. Expected, would be the electric component discussed above, but straight cut transmissions are seriously "rackety" under such load.

Production (road transmissions) use helical cut gear teeth for this reason, but have greater losses from axial loading, competition type all invariably avoid those for both strength and loss mitigation in smaller and lighter component form.

Is the output of MGUK quoted as 469 bhp equivalent ? Anything of that magnitude going back through the transmission set will make very significant noise as result most from gear teeth interactions. These are completely devoid of any NVH mitigation, only power loss and durability is considered for racing transmission.

[Badger]

We're definitely going to disagree, this haas video by bozzi, who always has impeccable sound quality, has the exact same noise.

You'll have to specify when you are hearing it in the Haas video. At the 4 minute mark of the F1 video you posted is definitely a drone sound.

I am an audio engineer, trust me it is Not a drone.
It is completely in sync with the engine and the car, by its pitch and its distance.
And it is also logical, this years cars have a much stronger electric motor, which is driven by PWM technology, and that makes electric motors whine, following its RPM.

Of course it’s a drone. Watch around 3 minutes on this video, you can hear the sound then a few seconds later you can literally see the high speed drone flying after the car.

I even think that’s the same moment dialtone was referring to in his video, it happens on the same part of the track, same sound.

You don’t hear the sound when the car is braking otherwise, you don’t hear it on the Haas, you don’t hear it on any other car, and we can literally see the drones flying around Occam’s razor folks.

[sucof]

You'll have to specify when you are hearing it in the Haas video. At the 4 minute mark of the F1 video you posted is definitely a drone sound.

I am an audio engineer, trust me it is Not a drone.
It is completely in sync with the engine and the car, by its pitch and its distance.
And it is also logical, this years cars have a much stronger electric motor, which is driven by PWM technology, and that makes electric motors whine, following its RPM.

Of course it’s a drone. Watch around 3 minutes on this video, you can hear the sound then a few seconds later you can literally see the high speed drone flying after the car.

I even think that’s the same moment dialtone was referring to in his video, it happens on the same part of the track, same sound.

You don’t hear the sound when the car is braking otherwise, you don’t hear it on the Haas, you don’t hear it on any other car, and we can literally see the drones flying around Occam’s razor folks.

So you picked the only little part of all these videos where there might be truly a drone. And you ignore all the other recordings where you can clearly hear the MGUK.
And you also ignore everyone here who clearly has knowledge about this, and ignore every clear explanation of theirs.
Well, congrats!

[Badger]

I am an audio engineer, trust me it is Not a drone.
It is completely in sync with the engine and the car, by its pitch and its distance.
And it is also logical, this years cars have a much stronger electric motor, which is driven by PWM technology, and that makes electric motors whine, following its RPM.

Of course it’s a drone. Watch around 3 minutes on this video, you can hear the sound then a few seconds later you can literally see the high speed drone flying after the car.

I even think that’s the same moment dialtone was referring to in his video, it happens on the same part of the track, same sound.

You don’t hear the sound when the car is braking otherwise, you don’t hear it on the Haas, you don’t hear it on any other car, and we can literally see the drones flying around Occam’s razor folks.

So you picked the only little part of all these videos where there might be truly a drone. And you ignore all the other recordings where you can clearly hear the MGUK.
And you also ignore everyone here who clearly has knowledge about this, and ignore every clear explanation of theirs.
Well, congrats!

The only part? The drone was flying around making noise the entire shakedown. It didn’t just capture one shot.

The sound I am talking about is the sound you hear in that clip. That high pitched very distinct drone whine. That’s also the same sound as in the first clip I responded too.

Yes of course the MGU-K makes a noise, but it’s not that noise. If that were the case you’d hear it almost every corner, but you don’t.

[DoctorRadio]

The thing I don’t understand, but no expert here, we complain of subdued F1 PUs noise trackside and we would hear a distant drone so distinctly?

[Farnborough]

Predominantly, its definitely MGUK / Transmission emmitance and very clearly on record here



Strong audio of the 26 PU running on same track, sounds like "gain" ? Is high in recording as background ambient is raised, but very clear link of PU noise profile correlated to track speed etc, that during regen/load/deployment periods.

[DoctorRadio]

I don't think so. That was my initial thought with the drone footage as well but a) I have never heard the drone in a professionally shot drone video and b) In the F1 channel hi def video, you can clearly hear that it sounds like an RC car off throttle. Very very weird. Also backs up with Binotto was saying in his own interview that the engines are going to be on throttle in braking zones to charge the battery

I think it is the electric motor.
Min 2:51, 3:00 and 5:47, going into the hairpin and accelerating out of it, it makes a very strange sound.

It's a drone, you can see it pop into the video occasionally.

Absolutely. My bad. I should not only have listened to the three points, but also look closely. There is even more than drone, actually there are at least two drones. And its definetely the sound of the drones, you are right. There are not strange sounds from the engine itself.

Haas did a shakedown today at Fiorano and apparently they didn't use a drone. It's possible to hear the whine of Ferrari PU's electric motor, but it's not as pronounced as the SF-26's yesterday, which in a way indicates that a good part of the electric whine yesterday was actually coming from the drone.

Haas was on a wet track, Ferrari mostly dry though, so different PU usage that would explain more noise in Ferrari’s case.

[mzso]

Definitely electric motor whine/sound which is to be expected?

I doubt the electric motor is developed/built in house so do we know who their supplier is?

Electric motors don't make a sound that you can hear. Gears do. It was pronounced in the footage where Hamilton went out to the track. Otherwise you can hear drone sounds.