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Scuderia Ferrari HP reveal their new livery for the 2026 Formula One season. (1:24)
Ferrari has revealed the car it hopes will propel it to the front of the Formula 1 grid in 2026 and end its championship drought in a new era of regulations.
The SF-26 carries the hopes of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc as the sport enters a new regulatory era with increased electrification of the power units and smaller, lighter cars.
The Italian team is hoping to move on from a disappointing 2025 season in which seven-time champion Hamilton joined the team but failed to score a grand prix podium.
It is also looking to end a championship drought that stretches back to its last constructors’ title in 2008 and last drivers’ title in 2007.
Ferrari said at the end of last year that its launch car would be designed with the aim of running reliably at next week’s opening preseason test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya so that it can gather as much data as possible on its new power unit.
A second specification is then expected to be introduced during the following tests in Bahrain when the team will aim to maximise the performance of its new car ahead of the first race in Melbourne on March 8.
“This car is the result of a tremendous team effort and represents the start of a completely new journey, built around a different set of rules that inevitably brings a number of unknowns,” team principal Fred Vasseur said. “The team is aligned and more united than ever as we look ahead to the season.
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“From next week in Barcelona, we will begin the process of understanding and validating the car. In this initial phase, the priority will be to learn as much as possible and to start building solid foundations ahead of the opening race.”
Ferrari said the car’s new livery takes inspiration from the one-off tribute the team ran on its cars at the 2025 Italian Grand Prix to mark the 50th anniversary of Niki Lauda’s first title.
The team has also opted to return to gloss paint rather than matte, saying the red is a match for the cars driven to multiple titles by Michael Schumacher in the early 2000s.
“The colour maintains continuity with the red used around the turn of the millennium, reaffirming Ferrari’s core values of passion, courage, and identity,” the Ferrari press release said.
F1’s new regulations aim to create power units that produce 50 percent of their power from the battery and 50 percent from an internal combustion engine fed by advanced sustainable fuel.
In order to hit those targets, the technical regulations have also changed to allow active aerodynamics on the front and rear wings.
Both drivers highlighted the significant changes to the regulations in their comments at the launch.
“The 2026 season represents a huge challenge for everyone, probably the biggest regulation change I have experienced in my career,” Hamilton said. “When a new era begins everything revolves around development, growth as a team, and moving forward in the same direction.
“As a driver, being involved from the very start in the development of such a different car has been a particularly fascinating challenge, working closely with the engineers to help define a clear direction for the it. It will be an extremely important year from a technical perspective, with the driver playing a central role in energy management, understanding the new systems and contributing to the car’s development.”
Leclerc added: “The 2026 regulations demand an even higher level of preparation, particularly for us drivers. There are many new systems to understand and optimise, which is why we have been heavily involved from the early stages of the project’s development.
“During my time with Scuderia Ferrari HP we have already experienced major regulatory changes together, so we know how complex this challenge can be, but we are working with a lot of motivation to arrive on track as well prepared as possible.
“Energy management and the power unit will be among the most significant aspects – a fascinating challenge which will require us drivers to adapt quickly, relying more on instinct to begin with, and then increasingly on precise data.”

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