With the 2026 season just days away, Ferrari will be looking at this season as potentially their biggest chance of securing their first drivers championship since 2007.
The Scuderia boasts a formidable line-up with seven-time world-champion Lewis Hamilton and 8-time race winner Charles Leclerc. The pair, led by team boss Fred Vasseur, will feel they head into 2026 with a chance to write history and end their wait for championship glory that has lasted nearly two decades.
Cautious optimism after testing
Ferrari arrived at the Barcelona shakedown in the dark as to if the SF-26 was competitive. Hacing switched their focus to developments on their 2026 car midway through 2025 the team hoped their work would pay off.
By the end of it, Lewis Hamilton found himself topping the timesheets with the British driver saying it had been “a hugely enjoyable week” as the team packed up for the official Bahrain test.
The Bahrain test proved even more encouraging, as the Scuderia recorded over 300 laps on Test 2 with Leclerc setting the fastest time on the final Friday.
Reliability also proved a strong point for the most part, marred only by a minor issue for Hamilton at the end of the very first test.
It was the Italian team’s rear wing that caught the attention though as the team debuted a radical rotating rear wing as well as an unusual vane located behind the exhaust.
The team’s rear wing gained the most plaudits; rotating 180 degrees down the front straight in overtake mode allowing the team to gain an aerodynamic advantage down the main straight.
Lewis Hamilton
Hamilton’s debut season in the scarlet red certainly didn’t go to plan.
Hopes that the seven-time world champion would return the Scuderia to the front of the field rapidly fizzled out after a below par debut in Melbourne, centred around tensions between the Brit and race engineer Riccardo Adami.
“With Riccardo it was a pretty difficult decision to make, and I’m really, really grateful for all the effort he put in last year, and his patience – it was a difficult year for us all,” detailed Hamilton.
“It is the situation that I’m faced with, and I’ll try and do the best that I can. The team is trying to do the best they can to make it as seamless as possible.”
Heading into 2026 Hamilton will be heavily aware that the pressure is mounting on him as he fights to return to his race winning standard.
Questions about if the ‘spark’ and talent has left the 41 year-old are begining to circle but Hamilton remains insistent he is here to stay.
“I love this job so much and I love working with my team and driving for the fans. I’m incredibly lucky to be able to do what I do, and I’m excited for the season ahead,” Hamilton said ahead of Melbourne.
“I’m re-set and refreshed. I’m not going anywhere, so stick with me.”
Charles Leclerc
Leclerc continued to be the driver who led Ferrari to fourth in the standings.
The Monégasque driver secured seven podiums on his way to fifth in the driver’s standings, nearly 100 points clear of his teammate behind.
Despite his dominance over his teammate, Leclerc admitted that he was disappointed after 2025.
“I’m very disappointed,” admitted Leclerc. “I’m very disappointed in general. I think once you are in the heat of the season, you try and keep your head high, you try and stay motivated, and think about the positive, but when the season ends, that’s where I get the disappointment.”
2026 will be a new dawn for the 29 year-old who embarks on his ninth season in the sport.
Arguably there is no greater opportunity for the eight-time race winner to claim his first world championship.
He came close in 2022 but his team fell short. Now, with new regulations and a promising car underneath him, Leclerc will start the season eying up championship glory.
Predictions
Ferrari enters into 2026 off the back of a very promising test. They departed Bahrain with probably the most amount of confidence and will be looking to carry that into 2026.
The pressure will remain on the shoulder’s of Hamilton and this will continue to grow if he fails to mount a championship challenge.
Leclerc, on the other hand, will feel slightly reassured after he appeared to extract the maximum from the SF-25.
The question on everyone’s lips though is have Ferrari created a championship winning car?
For years the Prancing Horse, once renowned as ‘the team to beat’ has slipped into a midfield battle and it seems to have enveloped them.
Can the team that was once a formidable force return to the front of the field once more?
Feature Image Credits: Formula One