As the residents of Maranello readied themselves for lunch on Friday, they will have been met with the sound of a new-for-2026 Ferrari 1.6-litre turbocharged V6 engine blasting around the neighbourhood’s Fiorano test track as seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton christened the SF-26 with its first lap of a race circuit.
Ferrari were operating a demonstration day, which in F1 parlance means they were permitted to run their car for a maximum of 15km as per the regulations, as part of their official launch.
Running their car for the first time on launch day was a brave thing to do. Yes, they did so in 2023, but the regulations were reasonably stable so cars were largely evolutions from one season to the next.
This year, both the chassis and power unit rules have been overhauled in what is the biggest change that most drivers on the grid will have seen and that means the risk of things going wrong is significantly higher.
So, when we headed through the gates of Fiorano early doors as one of a handful of media handed access, there was an understandable feeling of excitement fused with tension. Ferrari’s loyal fanbase the Tifosi had got wind of the fact their team would be running and thus hundreds of them assembled at the gates of the track and along the fence on the bridge that straddles the track and offers a wonderful view of the first corner.
Inside the gates, Ferrari club presidents from Italy and around the world were assembling, along with VIP guests of the team, Ferrari President John Elkann and CEO Benedetto Vigna ahead of the run.
They were soon joined by Ferrari Team Principal Fred Vasseur and Deputy Team Principal Jerome d’Ambrosio. Minutes later, the drivers appeared. Lewis Hamilton had the shorter commute, relative to Charles Leclerc, as he was staying in his motorhome at the track. In fact, he’s actually been staying here for the last week for meetings and pre-season prep.
Around 15 minutes before 11:30 local time, when the car was due to be fired up for the first run, I was fortunate to be given exclusive access to the garage. As I slid the door open and stepped inside, I was met with a long bank of desks with engineers glued to data screens. This was within an awning that had been attached to the main garage as space was at a premium.
As I stepped into the main garage building, I was met with an overwhelming sense of calm. The car – sporting its new striking red and white livery – was in position, just in front of the closed garage door, but without the tyres.
Engineers and mechanics were chatting while making their final checks. Anyone who didn’t have anything to do with the run was simply gazing at the car. For many, this was the first time they had seen the machine the team have been working on for a year bolted together. The immense sense of pride was clear.
Everything was running perfectly to schedule – and with five minutes to go, Vasseur came in with his headphones on, closely followed by D’Ambrosio. They chatted to mechanics and engineers alongside the car. Then Hamilton strolled over to the car, chatted to some engineers who were working on it and put his hands on either side of the cockpit to have a nose around. He lingered there for a while, just taking it in. This would be his new office for the year.
The seven-time World Champion then stood back and soaked it all in before heading over to get suited up. On returning to the car, he had a bit of a swagger, a spring in his step. He was now just moments away from that first feeling.
“The good thing is when you come back you always hope you fit,” he says with a smile, when we chat later in the day after that moment of stepping into the car. “Fortunately it fit completely fine. It’s just so exciting when they fire the car up and you get the new vibration of the car through your body, and then they open up the door and you end up going down to Turn 1 where you can see the Tifosi.
“That’s something that I will never get used to, and something that I’ll never be able to forget. But today’s really about reconnecting with the team, reconnecting with that passion of all the people that follow this team.
“It’s just a day that reignites you. It really also reminds me of why I love doing what I do and why I love this sport.”
The first lap for the SF-26
On sinking into the car, Hamilton gave a little wiggle. The engineers reached into the cockpit to help him get comfy – but it didn’t take long. While this is happening, Leclerc has entered the garage, with headphones and a radio so he can listen to the transmission. He pops himself on a high seat on the internal pit wall and watches the preparations.
Then as the team fire the car up, the Monegasque heads to the back of the car. The tyres are bolted on, one at a time. The sharp sound of rotation as the bolt is blasted into place creates a soundtrack as the build-up reaches a crescendo. Everyone is laser focused on the car. The tension is palpable. I’m shaking – and totally absorbed in the moment – and I had nothing to do with the creation of this machine.
Next, the garage door opens and the run to Turn 1 – and the first sight of the fans peering through the fence – breaks into view. Hamilton wastes no time in engaging first gear and easing out of the garage before heading down to fans chanting his name at Turn 1. Everyone in the garage streams to the front, following him out and gazes across the majestic track as Hamilton cruises around on what is an installation lap.
The Briton returns without any issues and stops out on track as planned. He switches the car off and they push him back into the garage. Vasseur and D’Ambrosio smile at each other and then head over to the engineers to look at the data.
In the meantime, Hamilton takes his helmet off and heads over to talk to his physio Angela [Cullen]. The first lap for the SF-26 is complete. Ferrari’s F1 journey in 2026 has really begun.
The running continues
All is as it should be with the installation lap, so Hamilton heads back out for a second run – and I take a spot on the terrace that sits alongside the main straight. This time, it’s two laps. The first is faster in the initial sector before he backs off when he catches the camera car, which features a rig to capture content.
The second lap is a faster one. He’s not chasing performance, of course, but it’s a first chance to start to feel what the car might have lurking deep within. He then returns to the start-finish straight and stops.
Contrary to some reports, this was a planned stop. It allowed the team to practise the start procedure before he was wheeled back in.
That would be the end of his running for the day, with the team halfway through their allocation of mileage already. The mechanics then set to work preparing the car for Leclerc.
When Leclerc got his shot, he replicated Hamilton’s running with a lap behind the camera car before doing a second lap. Like Hamilton, he also did a practice start at the end of the run before he was pushed back into the garage. That signaled the end of running for the day.
There was some time for photographs of the car before it was time to strip it down and start packing it up and sending it off to Spain for next week’s Barcelona Shakedown. That private test starts on Monday, but with teams allowed to choose which three days they want to run of the five available, Ferrari won’t be breaking cover for the first time until day two on Tuesday.
There is plenty of work to do, of course, and it’s impossible to draw any performance-related conclusions from the running on Friday, but this was a brave move that paid off and rewarded confidence in the machine the Italian team had built.
Crucially it gave the Tifosi hope that maybe, just maybe, this might be their beloved Ferrari team’s year.
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