F1 2026 farce exposed as Ferrari turn to Formula E for help

Rowland, Formule E, Formula E, 2025, generic — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 2026

F1 2026 farce exposed as Ferrari turn to Formula E for help

How Ferrari are trying to get ahead of their Mercedes rivals

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Wednesday 15 April 2026 21:30

When Max Verstappen compared F1 to 'Formula E on steroids' we didn't realise just how close his comparison was to the truth.

The all new 50-50 split between the internal combustion engine and electrical power has come under increased scrutiny by F1 drivers and fans alike, with the need to charge the battery leading to lifting and coasting or 'super-clipping' into the corners.

F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali recently launched his defence of the new cars to those who branded the sport artificial or anti racing, telling Autosport: "Overtaking some people are saying is artificial, what is artificial?

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"I mean, overtaking is overtaking, and people have a short memory, because in the turbo age in the 1980s, I was already following F1 and the lift and coast and using different turbos and different speeds. You have to [manage] because otherwise the fuel tank was too small.

"Maybe some of the old people are criticising or have some comments have a short memory, because back in the 80s, at the turbo time, these things were there."

But despite Domenicali's protestations, Ferrari's latest attempt to get ahead of rivals Mercedes has done nothing to combat F1's negative perception at present.

Ferrari look to Formula E

F1 is the pinnacle of motorsport, with rival series' looking to them for technological advancements in their own categories, but now F1's most iconic team Ferrari have turned to people who play with Scalextric for advice. That’s a farce.

According to Scuderia Fans, Ferrari are integrating knowledge and technical expertise from Formula E into its development strategy, to reduce the performance gap to rivals Mercedes.

Specifically, Ferrari are trying to maximise the efficiency and deployment of electrical energy, aiming to replicate Mercedes during the hybrid era by gaining knowledge from the all-electric racing series.

This focus has even filtered into the hiring process within the Maranello-based team. Ferrari's recent hire, Maxime Martinez, boasts over two years experience at the Nissan Formula E team where he worked as a control engineer.

Prior to then, Martinez worked with rivals Mercedes themselves back on their power unit production at Brackley, although this was only for a year.

Mercedes' domination during the hybrid era was attributed, in part, to the influence of Formula E on their engineering approach, with their integration of energy-efficient technologies and advanced battery management strategies allowing them to extract maximum performance from their power unit.

So it seems to be a smart move from Ferrari to follow suit; but the fact F1 teams are reliant on Formula E technology to move forwards surely goes against everything the sport stands for? Once motorsport's leaders, is F1 no longer the innovative space it once was, at least when it comes to power unit technology?

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