Ferrari appears to have gotten off to a strong start in pre-season, logging significant mileage during both the Barcelona shakedown and Bahrain testing. The team has demonstrated the early reliability of its new power unit while consistently appearing near the top of the leaderboard, though lap times in testing are notoriously unreliable indicators of the actual competitive order. The new season sees all Formula 1 cars undergoing dramatic changes due to revised regulations affecting chassis design and power units. With these adjustments, the cars now run hybrid systems consisting of 50% thermal and 50% electric power, emphasizing reliability and efficiency.
Teams like Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull, and McLaren—who finished at the top of last season’s constructors’ standings—appear well-positioned to lead once again. The pre-season tests in Bahrain aim to allow teams to accumulate laps, gather data on car performance, and ensure reliability before the first race of the season in Melbourne on March 8. Hamilton’s positive start with the SF-26 suggests that both he and Ferrari are eager to make a stronger impression in the upcoming championship.
#Ferrari updates the deflector above the diffuser.
The deflector now has a much larger dimension and is now a single piece. Thus also developing in the central area, in front of the muffler. 1/3
📸 @xavigazquez #f1 #f1testing pic.twitter.com/Qv9nzWExLb
— 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘂𝗹𝗮 𝗣𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗼𝗰𝗸 (@paddock_formula) February 18, 2026
After a difficult 2025 campaign in which he failed to secure a single podium for the first time in his career, Hamilton emphasized that he has spent the winter refocusing both physically and mentally. “I really felt like I spent a lot of time rebuilding over this winter, refocusing, really getting my body and my mind to a much better place,” he said. “I generally feel, personally, in the best place that I’ve been in a long, long time. And then the car, we’ve started off quite well so far. It’s an exciting time with this new generation of cars.”
Lewis Hamilton expressed optimism about Ferrari’s new car on Wednesday, describing the SF-26 as containing a bit of his “DNA” after testing it on the first day of the second pre-season test in Bahrain. The seven-time world champion completed 44 laps, finishing seventh on the timing sheet, while his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc completed 70 laps and posted a time 0.6 seconds faster, placing third.
Back on track with @LewisHamilton behind the wheel all day 💪 pic.twitter.com/gkRiFzpHCb
— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) February 19, 2026
Reflecting on a challenging debut season with Ferrari, Hamilton said he felt more connected to the SF-26 than any car he has driven before. “Last year we were locked into a car that ultimately I inherited,” he explained. “This is a car that I’ve been able to be a part of developing on the simulator for the last 10 months. And so a bit of my DNA is within it. I’m more connected to this one for sure.” Hamilton stopped short of saying whether this is the most confident he has felt in the past five years, but his decision to sign a longer-term contract with Ferrari signals his commitment to the team and its future ambition
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