Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc completed more than 120 laps in Barcelona, highlighting the strong endurance and reliability of Ferrari’s Power Unit
Ferrari’s start to the 2026 season has certainly been encouraging. Although tests — especially private, closed-door sessions at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Montmeló — should always be taken with caution, some positive signs have nonetheless emerged from the Scuderia.
Widely debated and with many questions still unanswered, the 2026 Power Unit is arguably the biggest topic — and challenge — teams must face this year. There is no better way to validate the work carried out at the factory than by putting in mileage on track.
Track Activity and Positive Feedback from the Garage
I test di Barcellona (qui per il LIVE) hanno regalato alcune sorprese sin dal lunedì, con problemi di affidabilità subito evidenziati da Gabriel Bortoleto su Audi e Franco Colapinto su Alpine.
The Barcelona tests (follow our LIVE coverage here) delivered surprises as early as Monday, with reliability issues immediately affecting Gabriel Bortoleto at Audi and Franco Colapinto at Alpine. Ferrari, however, has every reason to be satisfied with its work on track. The Italian team completed more than 120 laps in Catalonia — the equivalent of nearly two full Grand Prix distances. Not only did the drivers express appreciation, but team principal Fred Vasseur’s pit wall also praised the smooth operation — so far — of Ferrari’s new Power Unit.
Ferrari’s track programme was explained to Motorsport.com by Matteo Togninalli, Head of Trackside Operations: “We only had an hour and a half of dry conditions during the morning session, while for the rest of the day we were only able to run on wet tyres”.
“Nevertheless, we managed to gather positive feedback by completing over 120 laps. That is almost the distance of two Grand Prix, and we covered it without encountering any major reliability problems. This was our primary objective”.
“The team did a good job and, thinking back to previous regulation changes, being able to complete so many kilometres on the first day of testing would have been a dream“.
Photos: Scuderia Ferrari HP
