Ferrari spot potential F1 loophole with ‘beautiful’ 2026 car tweak in Bahrain

Former Ferrari race strategist Ruth Buscombe has highlighted what she described as a clever potential “loophole” uncovered by Ferrari, which could hand the Italian outfit an early advantage under the new 2026 regulations.

Although sweeping rule changes have ended the ground-effect era and forced teams back to the drawing board, diffusers remain a crucial element of car design, playing a key role in generating downforce. It is in this area, Buscombe suggests, that Ferrari may have found an innovative edge during testing in Bahrain.

Ferrari have not claimed a world championship since securing the constructors’ crown in 2008, and with a blockbuster driver pairing of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, the team will be hoping that smart interpretation of the new rules can finally return them to title-winning form.

The regulation changes could also help them to fight for regular race victories, with a shake up of the competitive order potentially set to take place as the rules reset takes action.

Now, Buscombe has suggested at the final pre-season testing event of the year in Bahrain that Ferrari may well have found a clever design quirk when it comes to their diffuser.

"I want to talk about diffusers, diffuser of the day goes to Charles Leclerc," Buscombe said live on Sky Sports F1. "The detail on the back of this diffuser is absolutely beautiful.

"Diffusers are still one of the key areas in which we’re generating downforce in 2026, obviously we’ve got rid of all of our ground effect but downforce is still a key area and this solution is absolutely beautiful.

"What they’ve managed to do is connect the rear winglet to the back of the diffuser.

"The four top teams have gone for slightly different solutions with Ferrari pushing the development the furthest with particularly impressive detail.

"What actually they’ve managed to do is to find a bit of a loophole or a clever engineering solution where the winglet is actually connected to the diffuser on the upper tail and it looks like it’s rather helping it stay planted at the rear of the car."

Who are the favourites for the F1 title in 2026?

While Ferrari have been fast throughout pre-season testing and are looking good heading into the new season, the team are not considered the favourites to be challenging for the two titles in 2026.

That is Mercedes, who have also uncovered a clever trick in the new rules, and one that could be worth up to 0.3 seconds per lap.

The unique design quirk regards the geometric compression ratios, with it being reported that Mercedes have found a way for the compression ratio to be at the allowed 16:1 when the engine is stationary, but then increase to the previously allowed 18:1 when moving, something that could allow an extra 15 brake horsepower (bhp), although Max Verstappen believes it's worth between 20-30bhp.

On top of this, Mercedes have history when it comes to maximising past power unit regulations, with their engine dominating the sport following the wholesale rule changes in 2014.

Mercedes claimed eight consecutive constructors' championships in the early years of the hybrid era, between 2014-2021.

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