2026 Scuderia Ferrari HP F1 Team

[deadhead]

The steel engine block aspect i find very interested in. THe benefits of this could the idea be around being able to run the engine longer/harder than before? (sorry i am no expert in
this field) the weight aspect is worrying as the rumours are the biggest thing people are trying to do is reduce the weight of the cars as all are overweight.

There must be a reason no one else has tried this in F1 with any amount of success?

[Peter Ian Staker]

There must be a reason no one else has tried this in F1 with any amount of success?

Different expansion rates of aluminum and steel under heat is the main drawback that comes to mind.

The rumor was they had abandoned the steel cylinder head idea two months but now it's back on? Either they are not very confident in the idea or more likely most of these rumors are not very credible.

[ScuderiaLeo]

Zhou is unfortunately no longer with Ferrari as a reserve or development driver. Sounds like he might be going to Cadillac.

Also thanks EMag for creating the thread!

[PlatinumZealot]

The steel engine block aspect i find very interested in. THe benefits of this could the idea be around being able to run the engine longer/harder than before? (sorry i am no expert in
this field) the weight aspect is worrying as the rumours are the biggest thing people are trying to do is reduce the weight of the cars as all are overweight.

Knowing the extremes that Formula 1 goes to.. Could have an option like this: the bulk of the head will be kept in Aluminum and the combustion chamber will be steel.

I imagine they will sinter (via 3D printing / SLS) the special steel alloy in the shape of the combustion chambers, the 3 of them in a row, and then cast the aluminum around it... (yes, no billet head) and then do the final machining. Perhaps a diamond like surface, or chrome-like surface could also be applied to the steel. This steel layer would not need to be cooled as much as the cylinder walls, so they can do with the reduction in thermal conductivity. The benefit I think would be in toughness. I have no idea how the differential expansion of the two materials can be mitigated though! But internal strains can even be made to be beneficial?

[PlatinumZealot]

The steel engine block aspect i find very interested in. THe benefits of this could the idea be around being able to run the engine longer/harder than before? (sorry i am no expert in
this field) the weight aspect is worrying as the rumours are the biggest thing people are trying to do is reduce the weight of the cars as all are overweight.

There must be a reason no one else has tried this in F1 with any amount of success?

I think he means steel cylinder head.

Iron blocks have been around in F1 turbo era with likely steel liners, aluminum heads... Many street cars had iron block and aluminum heads too. (iron and steel have similar expansion).

Differential expansion is there but you can allow microsopic sliding as long as the gasket does it's job to keep water where it's supposed to be!

[Chuckjr]

Uh oh...

[AR3-GP]

"Next year it won't be about the first picture of the season, it won't be all about the classification of Australia, it will be a lot about the capacity for quick development," Vasseur cautioned. "The season won't be over in Australia for sure, it doesn't matter if we are P1 or P10, but it will be a long way until the end, it will be a long way for everybody."

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/fred ... /10787186/

[lio007]

"Next year it won't be about the first picture of the season, it won't be all about the classification of Australia, it will be a lot about the capacity for quick development," Vasseur cautioned. "The season won't be over in Australia for sure, it doesn't matter if we are P1 or P10, but it will be a long way until the end, it will be a long way for everybody."

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/fred ... /10787186/

It's the same every year. If the first couple of races show not the expected results, some teams will start to say "We shift development to next year's car to be competitive next season"

[Emag]

"Next year it won't be about the first picture of the season, it won't be all about the classification of Australia, it will be a lot about the capacity for quick development," Vasseur cautioned. "The season won't be over in Australia for sure, it doesn't matter if we are P1 or P10, but it will be a long way until the end, it will be a long way for everybody."

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/fred ... /10787186/

Honestly, I disagree. P10 would be a disaster. You can't have that if you want to be a serious contender. You have to be right there from the get go. McLaren proved in 2024 that starting slow is costly. And they weren't even that slow to begin with. It's just not easy to make up lost points, unless you're confident a later upgrade will completely eclipse the competition, or you're so confident in your execution that you know you will deliver P1s every single race the moment the car becomes competitive. RedBull this year, further proof. If you start slow, the championship becomes a fever dream. And RedBull has a literal alien consistency machine driving for them.

Historically speaking, what's the last reg cycle shift which saw a dominant showing of a team in round 1 and then didn't have that team either competitive throughout the entire season or flat out jut winning both championships? Maybe 2012? But I wouldn't consider 2012 a big reg cycle shift from 2011 to be honest. McLaren still was very fast though, they just had an inconsistency & tire wear problem and (most significantly) horrible reliability. They were still probably the fastest car on average throughout the season.

2022 saw Mercedes start on a rough patch. They couldn't turn the season around.

2017 saw RedBull start very slow (I remember this year in particular, I was very surprised with how "vanilla" their car looked in round 1 having Newey and everything). It took them way too long to get that car in a competitive position after starting ~1 second per lap slower than Ferrari and Mercedes.

2014 had Ferrari starting absolutely in an abysmal manner. Maybe even worse than 2009. Couldn't turn it around. (and 2009 is an example in itself).

Anyway, point of the matter is, you don't want to be in a position where you're chasing a lot of laptime from round 1. Is it possible to overturn? Yes, it is, but if your goal is fighting for championships, it will be exponentially harder.

[AR3-GP]

"Next year it won't be about the first picture of the season, it won't be all about the classification of Australia, it will be a lot about the capacity for quick development," Vasseur cautioned. "The season won't be over in Australia for sure, it doesn't matter if we are P1 or P10, but it will be a long way until the end, it will be a long way for everybody."

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/fred ... /10787186/

Honestly, I disagree. P10 would be a disaster. You can't have that if you want to be a serious contender. You have to be right there from the get go. McLaren proved in 2024 that starting slow is costly. And they weren't even that slow to begin with.

I agree but it depends on the reason. If you have a fast car and have a fluke first race, then it's not the end of the world (2010).

If you are P10 because the car is slow, then you won't recover. It's strange for Fred to say something like this. If you are cynical, you would say he is sowing excuses before the season starts.

[ME4ME]

Vasseur should've just said it will be a season long development race. Instead he opened his mount and something stupid came out.

[deadhead]

Instead he opened his mount and something stupid came out.

Frequent occurrence…

[sucof]

I think you are just negative.
Fred did not say they will start slow or they will be P10 at the start... And of course he does not know either.
He said, correctly, that the cars will develop the fastest since many seasons... So the one who will be able the best in that catching up and developing race, might be the winner in 2026, where he is completely right.
Even if you win the first race, with that car you will be probably the last at the end of the season with no development.

Teams will see tons of solutions on other cars that is new to them, and they will first see truly how their car works in real race situations. So Fred is 100% correct.

[AR3-GP]

I think you are just negative.
Fred did not say they will start slow or they will be P10 at the start... And of course he does not know either.
He said, correctly, that the cars will develop the fastest since many seasons... So the one who will be able the best in that catching up and developing race, might be the winner in 2026, where he is completely right.
Even if you win the first race, with that car you will be probably the last at the end of the season with no development.

Teams will see tons of solutions on other cars that is new to them, and they will first see truly how their car works in real race situations. So Fred is 100% correct.

Rarely does anything change. In 2009, 2014, and 2022, the championship was fought amongst those teams on the podium in the first race. The first race in a new regulation set has a great significance, contrary to what Frederick Vasseur claims. That is when each team's concept is put to the test and that is when those teams who understand the regulations reveal themselves, and the same for those who do not.

Those teams who arrive with a good car in the first weekend are already showing that they have understood the regulations. That also means they are best placed to understand how to develop the car. Those teams that arrive with bad concepts in Melbourne are unlikely to overturn a performance deficit because if you have misunderstood the regulations from the outset, how can you out develop a team that understands them?

[gastonmazzacane]

Rarely does anything change. In 2009, 2014, and 2022, the championship was fought amongst those teams on the podium in the first race.

Toyota fought for championship in 2009? Must've missed that one.
Mclaren fought for championship in 2014? Must've missed that one.