Lewis Hamilton drives new 2026 Ferrari F1 car and it stops on track already

Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton drives new 2026 Ferrari F1 car and it stops on track already

The SF-26 was launched on Friday morning

Chris Deeley Editor

Experienced sports writer covering F1 and other motorsports since 2023

Friday 23 January 2026 13:43 Updated: 16:05

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The SF-26 is here, it's real, and it's on track as this sentence is being written.

Lewis Hamilton has his F1 car for 2026 under him for the first time after its launch on Friday morning, taking it out for a shakedown run just minutes after Ferrari's new livery was launched online.

Scuderia fans were treated to an 84-second hype trailer showing the SF-26's livery, the predictable splotches of HP blue, and the white cockpit area, while some stills of the livery have also been posted on the team's social media channels.

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Maybe more exciting than the livery was the clip posted online of the car, complete with Hamilton's iconic number 44, rolling out of the garage and onto the track for the first time.

However, fans may have been concerned at one point when Hamilton's car stopped on track - perhaps fearing reliability gremlins had struck the Italian outfit already.

A simple explanation was soon found though. Hamilton completed a lap behind a camera car as part of showcasing the car on track, before going on a second lap push. The British star stopped on track at the end of the lap, performing a practice start before being pushed back into the garage. Team-mate Charles Leclerc did likewise, all of which was pre-planned by the team.

Ferrari aiming for bounce-back season

The iconic tarmac of Maranello looked damp, with conditions overcast and chilly as Hamilton took off into the Po Valley mist, the new Ferrari engine roaring on track for the first time.

It's been a year since the seven-time champion arrived at Maranello for his first public appearance as a Ferrari driver, with expectations high among the tifosi after a strong end to the 2024 season.

Hamilton, however, failed to record a single grand prix podium all year while team-mate Charles Leclerc went winless for the fourth time in his seven-year Ferrari tenure.

The hope is that giving up on their 2025 season early allowed more development focus to go into moulding the new regulations to the best of their ability. Time will tell.

F1 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari