Gary Anderson surprised more F1 teams didn’t copy Ferrari’s 2026 power unit solution

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Former car designer and technical expert Gary Anderson has cast his eye over Ferrari’s 2026 F1 car ahead of the opening race in Australia.

Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton will go into the first race in Melbourne with a renewed sense of confidence.

Ferrari are being ranked anywhere between first and fourth by figures in the paddock based on pre-season testing.

Martin Brundle has seen plenty of confidence coming out of Ferrari, and although it means very little, Leclerc set the fastest lap of testing in Bahrain on the final day.

One of the biggest talking points during pre-season has been the power units, with the FIA announcing changes to the way compression ratios are going to be measured midway through the 2026 season and then again in 2027.

However, Gary Anderson has admitted that Ferrari’s turbo solution could be a masterstroke, and he’s surprised no other power unit manufacturers considered the same solution.

READ MORE: Who is Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur? Everything you need to know

Gary Anderson thinks Ferrari’s smaller turbo should have been considered by other F1 teams

Anderson was speaking about Ferrari’s new power unit on The Race F1 Tech Show and explained: “This turbo, the requirement for the drivers to put 11,000 RPM on the engine to get turbo speed up and the fact that Ferrari seem to have an advantage in that area with what’s called a smaller turbo.

“The thing about this is that all of the PU manufacturers, all of the teams, even will know how much electrical energy they used last year driving the MGU to get that turbo up to speed for the start line because last year it was invisible, but you had the electric motor on the turbo.

“So they will know how much they had to do that on a start line for their given turbo size.

“I’m surprised that some PU manufacturers don’t seem to have ever looked at that at all, or even car constructors haven’t looked at that at all.

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“Ferrari, if they’ve done this because they’ve actually looked at it all and said this is what we need, then fantastic, pat on the back to them all.

“If it’s just because their philosophy is running the smaller turbo, which it has been for the last few years, and by luck, it’s ended up helping them off the start finish line, then that’s fine.

“It’s interesting that the other teams didn’t have a look at it because if you’ve got the big turbo, you need to run higher RPM to get the exhaust flow and get the turbo speed up.”

READ MORE: All you need to know about Scuderia Ferrari from team principal to factory

Formula 1 engineers have ‘concerns’ about Ferrari smaller turbo after testing

The Ferrari-powered teams appear to have an advantage over the rest of the field off the line based on what’s been seen at testing.

However, data suggests Mercedes may have been hiding performance on the grid, which would negate some of the benefit that Ferrari have gained from installing a smaller turbo.

At higher altitude tracks like in Mexico City, Ferrari’s turbo choice might also end up being more of an issue, but team principal Fred Vasseur will be pleased with how their preparations have gone so far.

Some F1 engineers have ‘concerns’ about Ferrari’s engine, believing that it could leave Hamilton or Leclerc with a power deficit.

If that ends up happening, then all of a sudden, both drivers might be left questioning whether they can rely on Ferrari to overcome that deficit.