Well every reputable journalist - who have inside sources in the teams - is reporting that Ferrari has a smaller turbo. Bear in mind: 1) Ferrari is widely believed to have used a smaller turbo in the last rules cycles so likely see other benefits as well 2) Fred called this a tradeoff worth 1 tenth per lap - so we’re likely talking smallER but very small differences.Waz wrote: ↑20 May 2026, 22:11I am with you. There is no suggestion from anyone at Ferrari that a smaller turbo was chosen. The only thing Fred said was that they designed the power unit as a whole to start well.PlatinumZealot wrote: ↑20 May 2026, 13:46There is no confirmation on this turbo size rumour.
A smart engineer who has learned from the previous regulations will always go the maximum turbo size considering the engines are hybrid, and always thinks about race pace not just the start of the race.
I have been vocal on this. It would be silly to run a smaller turbo when you need as much power as possible in the higher rev range of the engine.
I feel Fred is playing reverse psychology here. The Ferrari starts are good because they have a solution for it and wanted to keep an advantage not because they have a small turbo. Why would you purposely make an engine weak for 98% percent of race? When you have overtaking aids?
For all we know, they worked on how to spool the turbo quickly. Or, a completely different method of getting off the line quickly. Ferrari have plenty of experience with starting systems.
In any case, this isn’t really the point - everyone is reporting Ferrari have a smaller turbo, you don’t believe it…fine. But what PlatinumZealot said was that Ferrari could have changed something and *chose* not to - I’m trying to understand what it is you think they could have changed and, if so, why they would have actively made a choice not to do something that was beneficial given new start procedure?

