Ferrari surprised during the test drives for the new season in Formula 1. A world title seems possible. The Tifosi can hope – after a dry spell of almost 20 years.
It’s the little moments that can sometimes be so decisive: When Lewis Hamilton allowed the rear wing of his Ferrari car to rotate halfway around its own axis on the straight on the penultimate day of the second Formula 1 test week, experts and fans were amazed. A clever technical trick in the midst of changes that already pose many question marks to the premier class of motorsport.
A – actually serious – question arose at this moment: Is the Scuderia competitive, even a team for the top?
The idea behind it is simple: on the straights, Formula 1 cars can flatten their rear wings to reduce air resistance as much as possible. The size of this gap is not specified in the regulations – Ferrari takes advantage of exactly that with its technical trick.
It is questionable whether that alone will be enough to leave the competition behind in the season that starts on Sunday. But the scene also has symbolic power for those fans who have lost their hearts to the Scuderia, the so-called Tifosi: Ferrari is a force to be reckoned with again.
There is a wide gap between expectations and reality
The proud racing team has been waiting for a world title for 19 years. Since Kimi Räikkönen in 2007, the sport’s greats have tried again and again: Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel, since 2019 Charles Leclerc and, since last season, the seven-time world champion Hamilton – all without success.
Much worse: in recent years there has often been such a gap between expectations and reality that many have had nothing but ridicule for a highly insecure team at all levels. The car was too inconsistent and dependent on the track profile, the drivers were not error-free, and the race engineers made some inexplicable tactical errors.
All of this could also be observed last year – although in a much weaker form, but still. So much so that team boss Fred Vasseur, who has only been in office since 2023, was wobbling. Leclerc ultimately finished fifth in the drivers’ championship, Hamilton only sixth. The team was only the fourth strongest force.
Ridicule after the first exit in Fiorano
When Hamilton’s car broke down on the company’s own track in Fiorano during its first public outing at the beginning of February 2026, the ridicule was there again before the start of the season. Even experts and insiders didn’t expect too much from the Italians before the official test drives. Completely in contrast to Mercedes or McLaren.
So what did the test days in Bahrain and Barcelona show? Ferrari will be a force to be reckoned with. If you look at the last of the three weeks in isolation, you could even come to the conclusion that Ferrari has the best package of car, engine and two excellent drivers. Leclerc set the best lap times, Hamilton shot past all the cars in front of him at a test start – from ninth to first until the first corner.
The Tifosi hope. And they hope rightly so. Ferrari has done a good job in developing the completely new cars in Formula 1. This is clear before the start in Melbourne on Sunday morning (08.03.26, from 5 a.m. in the live ticker at sportschau.de). “It’s inspiring to see a team pulling out all the stops to build a car. That’s the fascinating part of this job for me,” Hamilton said recently, full of anticipation for the new season: “I’ve reset and I’m full of energy.”
A season full of question marks
The moment of the start in Melbourne will be the first of many decisive ones in the new season – and will finally make reliable assessments possible for a season full of question marks. At least until then the Tifosi can hope.
