Ferrari expressed optimism following their initial day on track during the private 2026 Formula 1 testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, where Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc took charge of the new SF-26 car. The five-day test began on Monday, but Ferrari chose to start running on Tuesday, marking the first of their three allotted testing days this week. Their focus on reliability and performance showed positive signs despite challenging weather for parts of the day.
Day One Testing Activities and Conditions
Conditions were mostly dry on Tuesday morning, enabling Charles Leclerc to complete 64 laps in the new Ferrari. However, when Lewis Hamilton took over in the afternoon, the weather shifted to rain and variable conditions, limiting dry running but still allowing Hamilton to add to Leclerc’s mileage without car issues. The seven-time world champion appeared far more upbeat than he had at the close of 2025, suggesting progress in his adaptation to the Ferrari car during his second year with the team.
Ferrari Engineering Insights on Reliability and Performance
Ferrari’s Head of Track Engineering, Matteo Togninalli, provided a detailed update following Tuesday’s sessions. He acknowledged the complicated weather conditions but highlighted the team’s success in completing over 120 laps—close to twice the race distance—without significant reliability concerns. Emphasizing the priority of finishing their program, Togninalli noted,
“At the beginning, new car, new power unit, new everything. So the most important point is reliability. We could complete our program despite the weather condition. If we look back to yesterday, our customers as well did very good mileage. So it’s a good sign.”
– Matteo Togninalli, Ferrari Head of Track Engineering
He added that while it is too soon to gauge performance accurately, the team is focusing on understanding and fine-tuning the car through accumulated laps:
“Performance-wise, I think it’s far too early. So again, we are trying to understand the car, fine-tune the car. It’s more putting laps on it. So I’m positive.”
– Matteo Togninalli, Ferrari Head of Track Engineering
Scope of the 2026 Project and Early Achievements
The scale of the 2026 Ferrari project has been substantial, with development on the power unit beginning several years ago and car development intensifying well over a year prior to testing. Togninalli praised the team’s collective effort, remarking on their advantage given that some rival teams had yet to run at all in Barcelona:
“So the project has been huge. We started years ago with the power unit and more than one year ago with the car. So a lot of effort.”
– Matteo Togninalli, Ferrari Head of Track Engineering
He further emphasized the efficient preparation and part availability that allowed Ferrari to maximize their running time, calling the initial day of high mileage a “dream” in comparison with past regulatory transitions:
If you look back to new regulations in the past, it was like a dream to complete over 600km in one day. So positive in that respect. For the rest, we have to wait and see how things are going.
– Matteo Togninalli, Ferrari Head of Track Engineering
Focus Ahead: Learning and Preparation for Upcoming Races
Looking forward, Ferrari remains concentrated on understanding the behavior of their completely new car, including adaptations to tyres, aerodynamics, and power unit performance. They anticipate running more in dry conditions over the remaining days in Barcelona and then continuing testing at Bahrain. Togninalli highlighted the value of on-track comparison with other teams, though Ferrari’s priority remains internal progress:
“It’s going to be good to run with the other teams because it’s always good and useful to have someone to compare with. But again, we focus on ourselves. We have a long list of things to sign off. Measurements, characterisation, test items, setup. So it’s a very, very long list.”
– Matteo Togninalli, Ferrari Head of Track Engineering
With reliable mileage secured early in 2026 testing and Lewis Hamilton showing signs of regained confidence in his Ferrari, the team aims to build steadily toward the new season. Continued dry running in Barcelona, followed by the essential next steps in Bahrain, will be critical as Ferrari fine-tunes their innovations and seeks improved competitiveness in the upcoming year.
🚨| Scuderia Ferrari's Head of Track Engineering, Matteo Togninalli, shares his 'positive' perspective on the team's first test day in Barcelona.
Q: How do you sum up your running so far?
"First of all, weather and condition. It was a bit of a tricky day. We had one hour and a… pic.twitter.com/g6UxxjoNW0
— sim 🇧🇷🇲🇽🇸🇳🇫🇷🇭🇹 (@simscircuit) January 27, 2026
