2026 Scuderia Ferrari HP F1 Team

[bluechris]

Do we know if the engine is the final one? I just want to know how much they hold back till Melbourne

[f1316]

The quantity of steering lock Kimi is obliged to apply is huge, the merc seems to rely a bit more on its rear end compared to the ferrari

https://x.com/i/status/2025235019241795907

That is interesting - much smaller inputs from Charles.

Another way to look at it is that the Ferrari relies on a very positive front end; there’s a bit of a rear snap towards the end of Charles’ lap which is probably the result of that - ie the slightly nervous rear is a consequence of the very sharp front. I believe Fred spoke about wanting to focus on adding downforce in the rear and it’s probably where both of Ferrari’s very noticeable innovations come in: (1) the more they can exploit the crash structure winglet to connect the rear end (I don’t know if it’s diffuser, RW or a form of beam wing - or all three), the more they balance out the rear with the front (2) if they can get more drag reduction from the upside down RW, they can presumably run a bit more wing (not entirely sure how much that’s possible in these regs though tbh).

[sucof]

I do not know if others noticed it too, but when Charles did his best laps, the car looked a lot more planted than any time before... and I found it a strange observation, as you would imagine that happening the opposite way.
It can be they just only found the setup in the end of course, but that seems strange after so many days of testing...
I still think about their torque... their smaller turbo will not only help at the start, but it can provide more boost when starting the acceleration out of a corner. So they could have also simpy tuned it better, or the qualifying like tire usage helped in this? Meaning, truly hot and fresh tires having enough grip to stop sliding under huge acceleration?

[dialtone]

While it’s certainly possible that Ferrari has a smaller turbo, it’s in no way guaranteed.

This smaller turbo thing was something that Russell mentioned one of his engineers told him as what he thought was in the Ferrari.

Nobody in Ferrari mentioned or confirmed this.

[woocasz]

Is work on developing the engine (the entire powertrain) being/will be carried out by teams, or has it been frozen?

[SoulPancake13]

Is work on developing the engine (the entire powertrain) being/will be carried out by teams, or has it been frozen?

They have until March 1st to homologate their designs.

[dialtone]

Is work on developing the engine (the entire powertrain) being/will be carried out by teams, or has it been frozen?

It’s frozen in season except for ADUOs and between season some components can be developed according to appendix C of the rules.

[ryaan2904]

This year is Ferrari's year to prove that it can innovate AND win, so if they win, everybody will be prepping them up like Mercs in the future. It didn't use to be like this, I remember in 2018 and 19 they were actually rated at the top, even having a slight edge over Mercedes. 2020 completely killed that image and while 22 was better, ultimately they couldnt win nor did they develop in a way that won. So dont let the commentator guys bother you, they'll come around

Also imo Ferrari have an advantage with the turbo because they stuck with the conventional layout for the entire hybrid era. Must've learned some things

I’d argye that Ferrari did keep up with development in 2022. There is just nothing they could do about their entire car concept being destroyed with a mid-season TD.

Up until Spa 2022 they were easily on par with Red Bull. It’s only after TD39 that their car turned into a tyre destroyer that couldn’t keep up. The narrative that Ferrari was getting out-developed before then is a false one caused by tye points tally shifting in favour of Red Bull. But that was really only down to strategy and reliability blunders.

I agree, it could be that Ferrari would've developed very differently without TD39. Sometimes I am surprised by how much lobbying the teams let toto get away with. In '22 he pushed for immediate floor changes, last year he quietly added the new compression ratio measurement rules much later when it suited him and now i bet he was involved in pushing the new tests to August.

Also i think some guy on youtube said it perfectly, Ferrari have good engineers at the factory, what they need are better race engineers tracks side.

[ryaan2904]

Just wait till it gets banned mid season and all the Merc fanboys start whining

Very hard mate, rumors are that they are already passing the tests being proposed. Also it took an absolute unit of a team with Horner, Max, Wheatley, Monaghan, GP and Marko to shut down toto's bullshit in 2021. All of these people (maybe except marko) are exceptional. My god i loved that season even though i didnt really support RBR or Max.

People say Ferrari have veto but tbh Ferrari are one of the least lobbying teams and they also accept every hand dealt to them via the Fia and roll with it.

[PlatinumZealot]

We don't know if the turbo is smaller.

All we know is that it spools up faster than everyone elses.

They might even be running a double scroll compressor. Or the weirdo looking compressor that we barely got a tiny glimpse of in 2019. To this day no one what what the hell it was.

The turbine is another mystery.

[Dee]

We don't know if the turbo is smaller.

All we know is that it spools up faster than everyone elses.

Ferrari never had a split turbo so that already gives them a good base now. Wouldn't surprise me if all that life and coast the last two years was a way to test/get their energy management into a good system with a turbo they could bring to 2026.

[dans79]

I do not know if others noticed it too, but when Charles did his best laps, the car looked a lot more planted than any time before... and I found it a strange observation, as you would imagine that happening the opposite way.
It can be they just only found the setup in the end of course, but that seems strange after so many days of testing...
I still think about their torque... their smaller turbo will not only help at the start, but it can provide more boost when starting the acceleration out of a corner. So they could have also simpy tuned it better, or the qualifying like tire usage helped in this? Meaning, truly hot and fresh tires having enough grip to stop sliding under huge acceleration?

They had no real world data to start from, so they had to iterate through all kinds of possible race pace set-ups. Once they were satisfied with what they had, then the likely had to figure out how to tweak the aero set-up and power delivery for 1 lap performance.

The engineers and sim drivers are probably working over time right now trying to come up with even better set-ups and deployment maps.

[ScuderiaLeo]

Bobbi from AR seems to think the wing won't be done in time for Australia given that they have other parts they're working to bring and the wing is still in development. We might see it at the second or third race. But there's always a chance Ferrari pushes it forward if they think it'll be a benefit.

[Waz]

While it’s certainly possible that Ferrari has a smaller turbo, it’s in no way guaranteed.

This smaller turbo thing was something that Russell mentioned one of his engineers told him as what he thought was in the Ferrari.

Nobody in Ferrari mentioned or confirmed this.

Turbo has a maximum size this year, unlike before, so any difference will be small, if any.

[Waz]

Bobbi from AR seems to think the wing won't be done in time for Australia given that they have other parts they're working to bring and the wing is still in development. We might see it at the second or third race. But there's always a chance Ferrari pushes it forward if they think it'll be a benefit.

He must mean spares of it? Because it looks incredibly refined for something that is supposed to be a proof of concept.

I have sat watching it swivel for ages and the action is just so smooth and precise. The parts look well crafted from a highly developed mold and it's all just finished off properly.