It is almost traditional for Ferrari to be the subject of extensive analysis during the winter break. Whether Ferrari have smooth tests or encounter difficulties, scepticism often accompanies the team in pre-season.
Given their almost 20-year wait for an F1 Championship, this nervousness is understandable.
However, it is only fair to praise the Scuderia when positive news emerges about their progress. For the time being, the Maranello outfit can be satisfied with the early indications of their 2026 engine’s durability.
Ferrari engine accumulates the kilometres in Barcelona shakedown
Ferrari were one of four teams absent from the first day of running in Barcelona. Like reigning Champions McLaren, the Italian team opted to begin their programme later in the week.
Indeed, the SF-26 has spent this morning completing its first laps at the Spanish circuit. Despite damp conditions, Vasseur’s team have still judged they can gather some important data from today.
On paper, wet conditions can limit the usefulness of the time spent on circuit. This is why several teams who were on track yesterday have decided against using another of their three allocated test days amidst today’s rainfall.
Still, rain does not automatically render a session is worthless – especially in pre season – and so run plans often come down to preference. For McLaren’s part, they have chosen to debut the MCL40 tomorrow.
The papaya outfit, more so than the rest of the field, will hope for dry conditions for what remains of week.
Returning to Ferrari, they emerged as one of the winners from Monday’s running – despite not setting a single lap. This is because their customer teams enjoyed a flawless level of reliability from the power unit.
Esteban Ocon did more laps than anyone else, 154 in total. First and foremost, Haas deserve credit for putting together and executing such an efficient programme.
Despite all the limitations in terms of resources and personnel that Haas suffer, team principal Ayao Komatsu is making a habit of running a very smooth operation.
By extension, the success of Haas’ run plan is welcome news for Ferrari. In combination with Cadillac (whose issues yesterday were not engine related) the Maranello power unit is showing encouraging signs.
With such a limited sample size, drawing any conclusions is impossible at this stage. However, with Audi completing just 27 laps and Honda yet to hit the track, Ferrari will be one of the happier manufacturers so far.
Previous articles on LWOS have covered the Scuderia’s decision to use a steel alloy for their 2026 engine cylinders – deciding against the conventional aluminium.
The rationale for this choice was that (despite its relative scarcity across the field) it would improve reliability and allow the engine to withstand higher temperatures.
In this context, the engineers under Fred Vasseur’s supervision will be cautiously optimistic. Though more laps (especially at a higher engine mode) are needed to confirm these positive signs, it seems clear that major disaster has been avoided.
More than this, the opening sessions in Barcelona are vindicating Ferrari’s unique approach to strengthen reliability. This optimism doesn’t just come from the runs completed by Ferrari’s customers. The Scuderia’s own running with the SF-26 so far has been problem-free.
