Ferrari have leaked an ‘interesting’ claim about a crucial area on Lewis Hamilton’s 2026 F1 car

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Ferrari threw in the towel on the 2025 season early to prioritise F1’s 2026 regulations in a bid to have a car that Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc can fight for the title in.

The Scuderia have not won the F1 drivers’ championship since Kimi Raikkonen won the title in 2007. The constructors’ title has also not resided in Maranello since Ferrari won the 2008 crown. And while Ferrari initially felt 2025 could be their season, it turned into a nightmare.

Team principal Fred Vasseur felt Ferrari finishing 2024 only 14 points behind McLaren for the constructors’ title would set up a title fight in 2025. Yet Vasseur stopped the development of Ferrari’s 2025 car in April, as he accepted how far McLaren had pulled away over the winter.

Hamilton also started his life as a Ferrari driver in 2025 by declaring the Scuderia had “every ingredient” to target a title. But Hamilton soon realised that Ferrari must improve in various areas, and he finished a season without a Grand Prix podium for the first time in his career.

Ferrari failed to win a Grand Prix in 2025, but how many do you predict they will win in 2026 under the new regulations?

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Ferrari have designed a ‘very compact’ gearbox for their 2026 F1 car

Ferrari are keen to now learn from their mistakes in 2025 with the design of their car for the 2026 F1 regulations. For example, Ferrari will revert to push-rod suspension on both axles in 2026 after suffering chronic ride height issues due to the SF-25’s pull-rod rear suspension.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about the 2026 F1 engine and aero regulations

Also, FunoAnalisiTecnica now reports Ferrari have leaked ‘interesting’ information about the gearbox that they have designed to suit their new power unit for the 2026 engine rules. The Scuderia have devoted ‘significant’ resources on the gearbox to create a ‘very compact’ unit.

Ferrari believe having a compact gearbox will give them two advantages in a ‘crucial’ area of their 2026 car. Firstly, the design will reduce the weight of the gearbox. But potentially more importantly, the new gearbox will let Ferrari design a tighter rear end in the car’s silhouette.

Ferrari’s gearbox could help Lewis Hamilton to bounce back in 2026

Which of Lewis Hamilton’s helmets from his F1 career is your favourite?

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A slimmer silhouette at the rear of Ferrari’s 2026 car should allow the Scuderia to produce a cleaner airflow over the rear diffuser. The 2026 F1 regulations will make rear diffusers more important again, after the ground-effect era made the venturi tunnels in the floor the focus.

Hamilton was never able to adapt to the way that the ground-effect era between 2022 and 2025 required a different driving style to his favoured approach of braking late and carrying speed through any corner. But the 2026 ruleset should suit Hamilton’s style more naturally.

So, if Ferrari’s compact gearbox can let the Scuderia improve the effectiveness of their rear diffuser in 2026, then Hamilton will hope to return to form after the worst season of his F1 career in 2025. As well as failing to secure a podium, he scored just 156 points last season.