Ferrari completes Fiorano shakedown with 2026 F1 challenger

Ferrari has completed its new SF-26 car’s shakedown at Fiorano on Friday, ahead of the 2026 Formula 1 season.

The Scuderia unveiled its new challenger in a short video at 11:30am CET, but got track running under way even before that.

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The test was registered as a Demonstration Event, meaning the mileage limit was 15km, which corresponds to five laps of Ferrari’s home track.

Lewis Hamilton was entrusted with the installation lap, waving to the tifosi as he drove the car, which was fitted with full-wet demonstration tyres provided by Pirelli.

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari SF-26

Photo by: Federico Basile | AG Photo

Hamilton completed three laps in total, which was enough to get a taste of the new-for-2026 active aerodynamics, opening the front and rear wing flaps. Team-mate Charles Leclerc took over for the remaining two laps.

Team principal Frederic Vasseur explained that Ferrari’s priority was “getting the car on track as soon as possible”, speaking following the conclusion of the shakedown.

“I think we postponed as much as we can the demo day to have time to develop the car, but we knew the calendar from the beginning,” he added. “It means that it’s a long-term process, that we decided we’ll bring upgrade on the next session, but the most important at the beginning is the reliability. The most important is to be able to do mileage and it’s why we are quite happy today because we didn’t have any issue.

“I think for Barcelona it’s a good step. In Barcelona the target will be to get the maximum of information on the car, the maximum of data, and then we’ll start the development from Bahrain onwards.”

Pre-season testing will get under way at Barcelona from 26-30 January; it will be the first collective test in F1’s new technical era, with revamped chassis and engine regulations featuring active aerodynamics and a greater emphasis on electric energy.

Additional reporting by Roberto Chinchero

Photos from Ferrari shakedown