New Ferrari recruits immediately concerned by what they’ve seen in the team’s 2026 F1 engine testing

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Ferrari have taken advantage of Renault closing Alpine’s F1 engine division ahead of the 2026 regulations, but they have not been impressed since moving to Maranello.

The Scuderia will be one of the five engine manufacturers in the 2026 F1 season, along with Mercedes, Honda, Audi and Red Bull Powertrains. Audi will embark on the brand’s debut on the F1 grid as a full factory team next year, while Honda will leave Red Bull for Aston Martin.

Ferrari will supply engines to Cadillac, too, as the General Motors brand debuts on F1’s grid, as well as to Haas, as part of their ongoing partnership. Alpine, meanwhile, will stop being a factory F1 team in 2026, with the Enstone crew becoming an engine customer of Mercedes.

Renault announced in September 2024 that it had decided to close the F1 engine division at its Viry-Chatillon factory, as it would not be designing a power unit for F1’s 2026 regulations. Ferrari have also utilised Renault’s exit as an engine constructor by hiring some of their staff.

Ferrari’s new engine technicians from Renault think Alpine’s 2026 power unit was stronger

That is according to Formula1.it, which now reports that the new recruits in Maranello from Alpine’s Renault F1 engine division are not impressed by what they have seen from Ferrari’s 2026 power unit so far. Some of the arrivals from Alpine have even ‘rejected’ Ferrari’s work.

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

A collection of the technicians who have left Renault to join Ferrari fear the Scuderia’s 2026 F1 regulations engine has actually performed worse than the French brand’s power unit did on the preliminary bench tests before the closure of the F1 engine division in Viry-Chatillon.

While Renault prematurely pulled the shutters down on what would have been Alpine’s PU in the 2026 season, the engineers who have now left Viry believe their bench test data was stronger than Ferrari’s early findings. Ferrari will now hope their hires can improve their PU.

Ferrari have a limited window to improve Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc’s 2026 F1 regulations engine

Power unit technical director Enrico Gualtieri has total oversight over Ferrari’s engine for the 2026 regulations. He will hope to see the Scuderia’s hires from Renault’s defunct F1 division quickly help to overcome any limitations compared to Alpine’s cancelled engine project now.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Alpine’s 2026 Mercedes F1 engine deal

Ferrari do not have long to introduce any recommendations that might enhance the engine that Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc will use next year before the Scuderia must start to build their power unit. Pre-season testing will begin as early as January 26-30 in Barcelona.

Alpine are already running low on engine parts due to Renault’s exit from F1 as a power unit constructor at the end of the 2025 season, too. The Renault PU has cost Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto lap time all season and could force Alpine to manage their engine mileage.