Ferrari SF-26 shakedown was the first significant on-track move of Ferrari’s 2026 Formula 1 program, and although Charles Leclerc was not ready to jump to conclusions, his initial opinion was optimistic albeit rather tentative at the time of the initial run of the car in Fiorano. The Monegasque driver described the day as encouraging, mostly due to the fact that the new challenger was able to complete its shakedown making no serious problems, something that is very necessary at this early phase of the development.
Raw performance is not the point but first impressions do count when it comes to Formula 1. After the formal presentation of the SF-26 Leclerc and newly obtained team-mate Lewis Hamilton alternated in driving the shakedown phase on Friday, January 23. Also, this session was intended as a validation of systems, sensors and reliability and in that regard Ferrari was ticking the most significant boxes.
Leclerc acknowledged that the day was full of that old excitement that he has always felt at the first turn of a wheel by a new car. But he was fast to remind that not to set his legs too high. The situation in Fiorano was not the best and the air was continuously teemed with fog, and various areas of wet asphalt prevented any significant testing. This meant that any debate on competitiveness was wilfully shelved.
The most remarkable fact as regarded by Leclerc was the lack of big issues. Even in the current Formula 1 where cars are becoming more complicated and smaller in size, a brief trouble potential shakedown is an encouraging indication. The fact that Ferrari had real-life sensors enabled the engineers to get some very crucial information that they could use to determine whether the numbers were what they were doing months of simulating and work in the factories.
This is however, not the end of the process that Leclerc made it clear that the Ferrari SF-26 shakedown was just the start of a very long process. The test drive of a car can be deceptive especially when there are varying degrees of grip. He said that at the low temperatures, when there is a lot of fog and the road had been somehow damp, he could not push the car hard enough to get a feel of its real balance or possibilities. Any real verdict he proposed, must await until more representative conditions of running.
Nevertheless, the emotional meaning of the day was too strong. Fiorano, the personal test circuit of Ferrari, has always provided an added atmosphere that cannot be found in any other venue. With the SF-26 moving on the circuit first, Tifosi came out in large numbers and this provided the backdrop that made the players remember the responsibility that goes with the red. To Leclerc that support increased the feeling that this was not just another technical exercise.
At the backstage, the shakedown was the result of several months of hard work. The technical staff of Ferrari have been operating under a cloud of the 2026 regulation cycle and the alteration of power units and chassis philosophy gave the design of the SF-26. The main task at Fiorano was to see that the car acted as per the expectation and all systems interrelating with each other worked as expected before more demanding running commenced.
At last, we pass on to the next step of the preparation of Ferrari. The Fiorano outing will be an entry point into the private testing in Barcelona where the SF- 26 will undergo more extensive running and have more programmes. It will be there, and not some careful shakedown, that Ferrari will begin to realize whether the underpinnings of the car are substantial enough to bridge the difference to the front.
Ferrari concluded the 2025 season at position four in the Constructors Championship having totaled 398 points which was less than what was expected of such a team. The SF-26 is not just a new car though, it is an indication that Ferrari was also making a statement that they are still a car that can consistently compete in the title. Although the initial feedback supplied by Leclerc is carefully calculated, the mid-cyclic Ferrari SF-26 shakedown offers a solid ground on which the aforementioned aspirations might actually start to form.
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