Sky Sports F1 insider drops real truth about Ferrari 'breakdowns'

Lewis Hamilton looking grateful and Ted Kravitz appearing alarmed edited together on a background of the tifosi at Monza — Photo: © IMAGO

Pre-Season Testing

Sky Sports F1 insider drops real truth about Ferrari 'breakdowns'

The SF-26 was launched on Friday morning

Chris Deeley Editor

Experienced sports writer covering F1 and other motorsports since 2023

Sunday 25 January 2026 10:55 Updated: 17:42

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Ted Kravitz has helped clear up some social media misinformation this week, after Ferrari debuted their 2026 F1 car.

The veteran Sky Sports reporter was at the Italian team's Maranello testing track for one of the most anticipated car launches of the year, despite the fact that the SF-26 only actually ran a small handful (think, like, Jeremy Beadle small) of laps.

Shots of Lewis Hamilton at a dead stop on the track were widely shared, with the implication that the car had broken down within minutes of first hitting the track. That wasn't the case. In fact, Hamilton first stopped to do a practice start, then parked up mid lap to preserve some of the mileage for the day.

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As the team were only running a 'demonstration event', they were limited to a total of 15km of running – meaning they couldn't run three full laps of the ~3km circuit with both of their drivers. The solution? Park it up after two and a half, then get a tow back.

Kravitz: No problems with first day of Ferrari running

In a clip posted online by Sky Sports, Kravitz confirmed: "There wasn't that much running from the new SF-26, only about six laps, three each for Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.

"There was a moment where Lewis Hamilton stopped on the track that was shared widely on social media. That was planned, that was a practice start that he was doing. There were no problems with the cars running."

Of the car itself, he added elsewhere: “It actually looks smaller, it looks different. There’s a bit more white on the engine cover as part of the team’s visual identity, which has changed a little bit for this year.

“But the thing I’ve noticed straight away is this opening of the rear wing, that we’re seeing all these cars doing this year, and the new engine sound, that’s really different.

“We started to hear this with the other big team that ran that car yesterday, Mercedes, but now that I’m seeing and more importantly, hearing it, on the Ferrari, it really does sound different. It sounds louder and more raspy.”

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