At the conclusion of the Barcelona shakedown, well-known Sky Sport F1 analyst Matteo Bobbi commented on Ferrari’s performance, highlighting the positives as the team looks ahead to the Bahrain Grand Prix in terms of engine reliability and lap times.
There was significant anticipation around Ferrari during the Barcelona testing sessions. The focus was not so much on gauging the exact performance level of the new SF-26, but rather on assessing the work done at Maranello regarding the Power Unit. As is widely known, the new regulations introduced substantial changes to the engine, leaving teams concerned about potential reliability issues.
Why Ferrari can be confident after Barcelona
At the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, however, at least among the top teams, these concerns proved to be minimal or entirely absent. Bobbi emphasized this point in one of his recent YouTube videos, explaining that Ferrari completed a total of 432 laps over the five days of testing, with 170 laps in a single day, making them the second team in terms of total laps completed. Regarding the Power Unit specifically, Ferrari covered 4,578 kilometers, approximately 500 kilometers fewer than Mercedes. Bobbi noted that this figure is very significant, as the priority at this stage, particularly for the engine team, was achieving strong reliability. This was far from a trivial issue, given that the car is entirely new, so completing this mileage was a major achievement.
Bobbi added that the SF-26 appeared extremely well-prepared, remarking that the preparation at Fiorano had already been solid, and the performance in Barcelona confirmed it. Any issues encountered were minor and quickly resolved. The car ran consistently throughout the week, and on the final day, the team tested the car in slightly more aggressive conditions. Bobbi clarified that this did not mean Ferrari was running in full qualifying mode, but it allowed the team to push the car a bit closer to its limits, providing important insights into its behaviour when stressed slightly beyond standard conditions.
Positive lap time indications
The Sky Sport analyst also commented on the early timing references from Barcelona. He noted that the lap times of Ferrari and the other leading teams were already very promising. Bobbi admitted that he had not expected the cars to be this quick so early in testing. Considering that the fastest laps during last year’s free practice for the Spanish Grand Prix were around 1:13.6–1:13.7, the SF-26’s times were already very rapid, especially given that the cars were not running in full-attack mode, the environmental conditions were not ideal, and the temperatures were very cold. This suggests that Ferrari is heading into Bahrain with a strong foundation, both in terms of reliability and performance potential.
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