Ferrari: SF-24 is the mule-car chosen for 2026 Pirelli F1 tires

Scuderia Ferrari will return to the track next week with an SF-23: the Maranello team will be in Barcelona at the Circuit de Catalunya with the two drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, from Tuesday, January 28, to Thursday, January 30, continuing the work plan we anticipated at the start of the month and confirmed by the Italian media. The two drivers will alternate behind the wheel of the car that ran at Fiorano, allowing the seven-time world champion to have his first experience with Ferrari on a very cold day with fog and rain, which, however, was warmed by the support of over two thousand fans.

In Montmelo, the weather conditions will surely be better, with three days of variable skies and sun but no rain. Iit seems that a disturbance could pass on Monday, and there could be a downpour on Friday, but that will be after the Scuderia has already completed its work plan.

So far, Lewis Hamilton has “used up” 89 kilometers of the 1,000 allowed by the FIA in the Test previous cars programmes, while Charles Leclerc has only used 42, as he encountered heavy rain on Wednesday afternoon. The Ferrari driver duo will have the opportunity to train and prepare for the 2025 Formula 1 season, completing the four days of work allowed by the 2025 sporting regulations in Spain.

The Italian side has also joined the Pirelli test plan, which the single supplier has launched for the development of the 2026 tires. These tires will keep the 18-inch rims but will be narrower than the current ones. The most important thing is that the cars, designed for the new regulations, will be narrower and shorter, so teams had to prepare a mule-car that can ideally provide significantly less aerodynamic load, in line with the latest simulations conducted by teams in collaboration with the FIA.

The first to hit the track will be McLaren, which will be involved at Paul Ricard for the development of the rain tires. The world champion team will use the Castellet circuit, which will be artificially wet, on dates that overlap with the last two TPC days of Ferrari at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona.

Then, Ferrari and McLaren will be together in Montmelo on February 4 and 5 to analyze the slick tires. In Maranello, they have prepared an SF-24 as a mule-car, adapting the car to the 2026 regulations. Since the single supplier has requested the collaboration of teams to involve the regular drivers in the delicate task of selecting tire constructions and compounds, Lewis Hamilton will also be seen in action. It is clear that this will not be a test with the car that finished second in the 2024 Constructors’ Championship with five wins, as the behavior will not be that of the SF-24 that Charles Leclerc is familiar with. It is very likely that Leclerc himself will also be used in this session to provide feedback from someone who knows the original Ferrari well.