Ferrari took a different approach in developing the SF-26.

      Formula 1 teams are starting one after another to intrigue fans in advance, posting mysterious photos of their 2026 cars that reveal little, or audio files with the sound of the new power units.

      At Ferrari, as usual, they started differently – so far they have only announced the index assigned to the new chassis, previously known as "Project 678."

      "A new era begins with the SF-26!" announced the team from Maranello. But the Italian press is already speculating about what this car, built under the leadership of Loïc Serra, will be like.

      As Gazzetta dello Sport writes, at the Scuderia, when developing the concept of the next-generation chassis, they went a different way, abandoning many solutions previously used that proved insufficiently effective.

      One of the main tasks was to achieve normal tyre performance so that drivers find it easier to warm them up, since last year the team was, among other things, plagued by such difficulties.

      Loïc Serra, the Italian team’s technical director, is a recognized specialist in a field called Vehicle Dynamics, which is translated in a not very interesting way as "vehicle dynamics." This is a crucial area of physical knowledge that describes in every detail the behaviour of a racing car on track, reveals the patterns associated with it, and, accordingly, makes it possible to model it.

      In Maranello they completely changed the suspension design in an effort to create a more stable and predictable mechanical platform. That is why the basis of the front and rear suspension of the SF-26 is pushrods, not pullrods, as on the previous chassis.

      Ferrari hopes that thanks to this and other solutions the car’s behaviour will change for the better, the efficiency of the chassis as a whole will become higher, and the level of grip will not change sharply depending on the characteristics of a particular track and other external factors. This is precisely what Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton complained about most during the previous season.

      The presentation of the new car will take place at the factory test track in Fiorano on January 23 – on the same day the SF-25 is supposed to run on the track for the first time as part of a demonstration run.

      But besides technical aspects, there are other important considerations, and well-known Italian journalist Leo Turrini formulated them as follows:

      "Regardless of forecasts regarding the merits of Ferrari's new car, one has to ask the question: does Hamilton still want to race for this team?..

      The answer is known only to one person – Lewis Hamilton himself. In any case, I am on the side of this driver, who has just celebrated his 41st birthday. First of all, because I am a Ferrari fan. And also because I have always treated with respect those who have achieved deserved glory…"

      Perhaps it can be considered that Lewis has already given an answer in his recent address to the fans.