Lewis Hamilton will be delighted to hear Ferrari could benefit from one ‘massive’ car change in 2026

Follow us on Google Discover

The 2026 Formula 1 regulations are set to be a big reset for teams and drivers as they contend with all-new cars.

For the first time in F1’s 75-year history, there will be completely new chassis and engine regulations designed to improve overtaking and make the racing closer.

This builds on the current set of regulations but utilises less ground effects, while the engines have been simplified to entice manufacturers such as Audi, Ford and GM.

It should be an opportunity to allow teams who are behind to catch up, like Ferrari, who has suffered a long title drought, having not won a Drivers’ Championship since Kimi Raikkonen in 2007.

The arrival of Lewis Hamilton was supposed to be a big success story for them, but the partnership has yet to deliver on the hype from pre-season. Hamilton is struggling to get used to the car, notably the braking system on the Ferrari.

Ferrari made adjustments to help with Hamilton’s late braking abilities, but that could improve in 2026 if the Maranello-based squad have exploited one area in the regulations.

F1 teams can gain ‘massive’ lap time with 2026 brakes

F1 teams will be looking for areas where they can gain lap time, and one of those key areas will be in the braking systems. The regulations have changed this year, and any team that gets it right could make massive gains in lap time, according to journalist Jon Noble when speaking on The Race podcast.

“You can run bigger pads, bigger discs, bigger brakes. So for greater stopping power. No team wants to go down that route because there’s extra weight. So they’re trying to find this compromise between what weight they don’t want to have because car weight is going to be an absolute critical factor next season. And it’s not impossible,” said Noble.

“After all the talk we have about power units and straight line mode and manual override and energy recovery and sustainable fuel, the championship could be won by the team that produces the lightest car because everyone’s struggling to hit the weight limit.

“If someone’s found a way to do it and can get a car that’s 20 kilos less than somebody else, then that’s in effect 6 tenths of a second per lap. That’s a massive difference. So don’t rule that scenario out just yet. And I’m sure weight will be a critical factor.”

Where F1 teams can make ‘massive’ lap time gains with 2026 brakes

Hamilton is known for being a driver who uses a late braking technique and using oversteer to pivot the car into a corner, then accelerating hard on the exit.

The regulations for 2026 stipulate a minimum stopping power a car must have, but some teams are taking this to the limit. As well as using the physical brakes, teams also rely on the engine braking that harvests energy for the MGU-K to provide stopping power.

According to Noble, teams have also devised two solutions that include either running larger and heavier brakes or smaller brakes with greater influence on the energy harvesting. If it’s wrong for those who chose bigger brakes, they will be carrying excess weight, which will impact performance.

It’s a gamble for teams, but it makes sense that works outfits such as Red Bull, Audi, Ferrari, Mercedes, and Aston Martin will have a head start on this technology, given they are privy to their power unit development.

While we don’t know which avenue Ferrari has gone down, Hamilton will be hopeful that they can exploit it with their 2026 challenger and help improve his confidence in the car that is currently lacking in 2025.