Ferrari reveal launch date for latest F1 challenger

Ferrari will launch its 2026 F1 car on Friday, 23 January, just ahead of the private test between the 11 teams at the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya, home of the Spanish Grand Prix.

The Italian team has not yet confirmed the name of its new chassis, which will be unveiled at the time. 

It will also conduct a shakedown of the car on its launch date at the team's Fiorano Circuit, and it will be hoping it delivers significantly more success than the SF-25, which disappointed this year.

Team principal Fred Vasseur revealed the date to media, including RacingNews365, at the Italian squad's end-of-season press debrief.

The overhaul of F1's power unit and chassis regulations presents a fresh start for the Scuderia, and also for Lewis Hamilton, who endured a torrid first campaign at Maranello.

Whilst Charles Leclerc managed to secure seven podium finishes across the campaign, it was the first year of his decorated team-mates' career without a trip to a grand prix rostrum.

In the process, Hamilton became the Ferrari driver with the longest podium drought to start their tenure with the Italian team, taking that unwanted record from Didier Pironi, who had held it since the early 1980s.

There will be considerable pressure not only on the British driver but also on Vasseur to deliver with this latest car.

Having come just short of securing Ferrari a first constructors' championship since 2008 in 2024, the slump the Prancing Horse suffered means the scrutiny on the current leadership has been amplified.

The Frenchman recently revealed that aerodynamic development of the SF-25 stopped in April, something that contributed to its relative drop in performance against the likes of Red Bull and Mercedes, ultimately consigning the team to fourth in the standings.

Nonetheless, with all the unknowns of 2026, the Scuderia has the opportunity to steal a march on its rivals, as it initially did in 2022, at the advent of the contemporary ground effects era.