Ferrari’s rivals have been ‘strategically’ spreading a very worrying rumour about their 2026 car

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Ferrari have lost two key power unit engineers ahead of the 2026 F1 season. Wolf Zimmerman and Lars Schmidt have moved to Audi after a successful approach from former Prancing Horse boss Mattia Binotto.

Zimmerman was leading Ferrari’s 2026 engine project, and Schmidt was his deputy. Their departures are clearly untimely, and there are concerns about competitive repercussions.

Last season, Ferrari lost Enrico Cardile to Aston Martin, and this may have contributed to their disappointing 2025 performance. Cardile had thought up the SF-25 project, but wasn’t able to implement it.

Instead, there was an interregnum period with team principal Fred Vasseur also serving as technical director. While still fast enough to score five podiums this year, Ferrari’s car is fundamentally flawed, perhaps underlining the importance of continuity in senior engineering positions.

Ferrari rivals are trying to stop engineers joining by suggesting they’re behind

Ferrari have been recruiting the experts who are surplus to requirements at Alpine now that Flavio Briatore has scrapped the F1 engine operation. There have also been hires from Mercedes.

But this sense of a ‘revolving door’ fuelled chatter that Ferrari could be ‘heading for a dead end’ with their 2026 power unit.

What’s more, there are suggestions that Ferrari are facing reliability concerns after re-designing their cylinder heads. In theory, this could be a disastrous combination.

• READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton will not like what the F1 paddock is now saying about Ferrari’s 2026 engine

But Gazzetta dello Sport have now revealed ‘the strong political overtones’ in these stories. They believe that Ferrari’s rivals are ‘strategically’ circulating the rumours that the Scuderia are ‘seriously behind’.

The main objective, they say, was to dissuade engineers from moving to Maranello. They’ll be less inclined to join the team if they believe it’s in turmoil, even if that’s removed from reality.

The other big 2026 F1 rumour that you shouldn’t believe

The engineering market has been livelier than ever ahead of the 2026 F1 regulations. Before he left Red Bull, Christian Horner boasted about mass hirings from Mercedes.

Meanwhile, Cadillac are said to be offering triple salaries as part of their recruitment drive ahead of their debut.

The consensus among observers is that Mercedes have the best engine for next year. But Gazzetta say this rumour too was ‘used as a lure for human resources’.

In addition to recruiting technicians, Mercedes also wanted to project an image of superiority to Max Verstappen. That didn’t work in the end, and Verstappen will base his decision on the tangible results next season.