The 2026 season is just around the corner, and across all team factories, work to prepare for the new year is intense and nearly complete. Presentations of the new cars, built under the revised technical regulations, are imminent, as are the private pre-season tests in Barcelona from January 26 to 30, where each team can choose three days out of five. Ferrari is no exception. After reopening its Sporting Management on January 2 following the Christmas break, the Scuderia is in a feverish rush to finalize the 678, set to be unveiled at Fiorano on January 23, and will run a 15 km shakedown to ensure everything is functioning before heading to Spain.
Fast-paced but standard work
It’s a hard and tightly scheduled task that has led several teams to perform fire-ups of the power units installed on their chassis. For now, however, Ferrari does not appear to have done this—or at least has not made it public.
What has emerged is that the Ferrari team is assembling two chassis in parallel, having already successfully passed homologation crash tests and starting early production of the second chassis and various aerodynamic components, ahead of many rivals.
This planned approach will likely allow Ferrari to run a series of evaluations on the full car at Maranello’s dynamometer. While these won’t count as FIA tests, they will provide a first assessment of system functionality.
Ready for testing and Melbourne
The “dual chassis” strategy, however, should not mislead fans into thinking Ferrari has a competitive edge. Likely, top teams are also producing two chassis in parallel to be fully prepared for winter testing.
The first chassis will handle the initial half of testing, while the second chassis will cover the latter half. Meanwhile, a third spare chassis will be produced and shipped to Australia as a backup for the two cars that will ultimately compete after winter testing.
In short, this is not a show of force or an attempt to create illusions, but simply a realignment of work programs for a season that, more than recent years, will be defined by extremely tight timelines.
As the January 23rd launch date for the 678 draws closer, Ferrari’s decision to double its assembly efforts highlights the sheer intensity of the 2026 technical reset. In a sport where every hour of development counts, the Maranello engineers are leaving nothing to chance, ensuring that both drivers have access to fresh hardware during the critical Barcelona test window. While the team remains cautious about making any “show of force” too early, the synchronization of their production line suggests a Scuderia that is highly organized and ready to face the unknown challenges of a brand-new regulatory landscape.
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