2026 Scuderia Ferrari HP F1 Team

[venkyhere]

[Xyz22]

Norris did an awful turn 4 in his best lap yesterday. He was massively slower than Max as well.

He only lost 2 tenths, not "massive". Nighttime track is massively faster than daytime track. The comparison is of course irrelevant, but we do know that Mclaren is running in a more reserved state when their best lap in the night is slower than someone else's best lap in the day time.

0.2s in one single corner is a colossal amount

Anyway these 3 days were really good for Ferrari.

[f1316]

https://i.ibb.co/9HX5RffW/Bahrain-practice1-Ferrari.png

It’s a shame we can’t see leclerc’s full run (unless I’m reading this wrong, seems like we lost timing). The Race gave the following comparison:

STINT 1

Antonelli - Soft, 16 laps (1m40.128s avg)
Hamilton - Soft, 17 laps (1m40.280s avg)
Piastri - Soft, 11 laps (1m40.947s avg)

Stint 2

Antonelli - Hard, 12 laps* (1m38.547s avg)
Hamilton - Hard, 17 laps (1m38.929s avg)
Piastri - Medium, 20 laps (1m39.604s avg)

Stint 3

Hamilton - Medium, 6 laps* (1m37.461s avg)
Piastri - Hard, 18 laps* (1m38.472s avg)


But I think Charles’ race sim (set at a similar time of day, as opposed to Russel’s) seemed better than Hamilton’s, from what I can tell.

[SoulPancake13]

https://i.ibb.co/9HX5RffW/Bahrain-practice1-Ferrari.png

It’s a shame we can’t see leclerc’s full run (unless I’m reading this wrong, seems like we lost timing). The Race gave the following comparison:

STINT 1

Antonelli - Soft, 16 laps (1m40.128s avg)
Hamilton - Soft, 17 laps (1m40.280s avg)
Piastri - Soft, 11 laps (1m40.947s avg)

Stint 2

Antonelli - Hard, 12 laps* (1m38.547s avg)
Hamilton - Hard, 17 laps (1m38.929s avg)
Piastri - Medium, 20 laps (1m39.604s avg)

Stint 3

Hamilton - Medium, 6 laps* (1m37.461s avg)
Piastri - Hard, 18 laps* (1m38.472s avg)


But I think Charles’ race sim (set at a similar time of day, as opposed to Russel’s) seemed better than Hamilton’s, from what I can tell.

Stella was really in awe of it. I think the second and thrid stints were very strong.

[ryaan2904]

For those who care, Mercedes said George's morning stint was 26 seconds slower than Leclerc's race sim yesterday in the afternoon.

At the moment Ferrari looks a lot like McLaren looked last year. They set effortless quick laptimes on low fuel and they have one really impressive race sim in Charles Leclerc yesterday (but Lewis' run today was not too shabby either).

If it weren't for all these engine shenanigans, I don't see why you wouldn't put Ferrari as the leading team at the moment.

I am inclined to believe Mercs are hiding their pace

[ryaan2904]

I really didn't liked what was happening in the straights and basically everywhere with this harvesting... They ruined F1 imo and i don't speak for Ferrari now.

I think it will get better, they might either increase the compression ratio rule to 18:1 again in a few years or if its too bad maybe go to a 60:40 split. Lets see. But I agree, the first few qualifying sessions and race sessions will be ---, with clipping on every straight

[Luscion]

Points from Autoracer's livestream

• Ferrari is solid and has done a good job. At mid-corner and corner exit it seems that the car needs to be controlled more compared to the rivals (from the data/graphs) but they've done some really excellent long runs.

• Ferrari's diffuser is super interesting and shouldn't be underestimated because it's something really very innovative

• Ferrari has had another three very positive days, they needed to rack up miles and test the car. Theyre the only team to have completed the entire program at 100% but this doesn't mean that the car is the top force.

• If the next three days of testing are also positive, they'll be able to aim for the best possible performance in Australia with an excellent base. And that wasn't a given, given everything we've heard about the team over the winter.

• The SF-26 had some shortcomings at the rear, but it gradually improved over the days (improved setups). All that power coming on suddenly has an impact on the tires, which tend to spin and overheat.

• The SF-26 is a car that's going to evolve a lot over the course of the year. Loïc Serra wanted to design a car so that, if things go wrong, the concept could be completely overhauled during the year ("chameleon car"). Similar approach at McLaren

(I'll take this one with a huge grain of salt personally)

• Chinchero puts Ferrari as the top force and says that next week we'll discover something more and that we haven't seen things that he has seen (he was in Bahrain)

[ScuderiaLeo]

Leclerc via Motorsport Italia:

It was already difficult to make predictions with the previous generation of cars, let alone today. I think it’s easy to hide the true potential of a car in many different ways.

As for us, I’m happy with how we are carrying out our program. So far we haven’t had any reliability issues, and that’s a key factor to start the season well. At the moment everything is in line with our expectations. I think we have a good base to work from and improve.

Regarding our rivals, there’s Red Bull, which has shown really impressive things in terms of power unit, especially here in Bahrain. Mercedes has also shown, at times, very interesting signs, and in this specific case I would say they are hiding quite a lot. To close the circle, I see those two teams a bit ahead, then us and probably McLaren, which so far has been difficult to interpret.

I can’t say it’s the most fun car I’ve ever driven, but I’m finding the fun in a different way. I find it very interesting to develop something completely new. It’s nice to be able to think a bit outside the box and try to find new solutions to maximize the car’s performance. But the real pleasure of driving it is something else.

A Formula 1 driver must always be ready to accept a change in driving style. This year there is really a lot that is new, but I think that is mainly due to the amount of work we have to do when we are in the car. The percentage of pure driving is slightly lower. Now we think a lot about how to make the most of all the systems around us. You have to actively think much more than in the past, but from a driving point of view it’s something we’re used to. Even when you go from qualifying to the race, and we saw it last year, you change your driving style a lot.

I think it’s the new feature I appreciate more than anything else. The car is a bit more lively and the balance is better. You can play more with the car, having a very reactive rear end. Last year the weight was more difficult to manage and, personally, I have always liked oversteering cars.

I share what my colleagues have said. At the moment I find it extremely difficult to overtake, but with time we could improve the management of these kinds of situations. Every overtake comes with a price to pay, and I think today the price is much higher than in the past. It won’t be easy to pass a rival and immediately create a gap as happened until last year. It will be more complicated.

[f1Follower]

Is Ferrari going to bring more upgrades in Bahrain?

[Sbrillo88]

Is Ferrari going to bring more upgrades in Bahrain?

yes, a very informed YouTube Italian channel said that they will bring a new engine cover that will be more extreme, more tight to the power unit and other things, some visible, some not.

[DJ Downforce]

https://i.ibb.co/9HX5RffW/Bahrain-practice1-Ferrari.png

It’s a shame we can’t see leclerc’s full run (unless I’m reading this wrong, seems like we lost timing). The Race gave the following comparison:

STINT 1

Antonelli - Soft, 16 laps (1m40.128s avg)
Hamilton - Soft, 17 laps (1m40.280s avg)
Piastri - Soft, 11 laps (1m40.947s avg)

Stint 2

Antonelli - Hard, 12 laps* (1m38.547s avg)
Hamilton - Hard, 17 laps (1m38.929s avg)
Piastri - Medium, 20 laps (1m39.604s avg)

Stint 3

Hamilton - Medium, 6 laps* (1m37.461s avg)
Piastri - Hard, 18 laps* (1m38.472s avg)


But I think Charles’ race sim (set at a similar time of day, as opposed to Russel’s) seemed better than Hamilton’s, from what I can tell.

How much faster was Leclerc's compared to Hamilton's?

[subfire91]

[Emag]

Apparently Ferrari focused on this during the engine design process after proposing a change a year ago and Mercedes (and the others) declined it. If Mercedes are allowed to run with their gray area engines, then it would be incredibly hypocritical for them to change things now and potentially take away a hard earned advantage from Ferrari.

[Seanspeed]

Comparing the onboards of Leclerc's best time on Day 2 and Antonelli's best time on Day 3 - the Merc looked way better, I hate to say. It could exit so smoothly out of corners, while also being able to turn quite effortlessly into them. It looked more on rails than any car I've seen yet.

Granted, it's over a full day of difference here with Antonelli getting the most rubbered in track and having the most level of testing and preparation behind him, but the difference was pretty stark. The Ferrari was definitely way more nervous at pretty much every stage.

Just early impressions, not jumping to conclusions.

[f1isgood]

I think Ferrari looks good. Whether it will be enough to consistently fight for a title remains to be seen but they will definitely win a few races.