Ferrari’s decision to replace Lewis Hamilton’s entire power unit at the 2026 Brazilian Grand Prix was prompted by an unusual hybrid-related failure during FP3 at Interlagos, rather than a broken internal combustion engine. The problem left the Italian team facing an unavoidable grid penalty, but Ferrari went further than the repairs strictly required, choosing to introduce a complete set of fresh components to reduce the risk of another failure during the final races of the Formula 1 season.
The decision resulted in a combined 65-place grid penalty for Lewis Hamilton, effectively condemning the seven-time world champion to a back-of-the-grid start. However, Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur explained after the race that the team was also thinking ahead to Las Vegas, where another technical problem could have proved particularly costly.
Fred Vasseur explains why Ferrari changed Lewis Hamilton’s entire power unit
Following the technical problem experienced during the final practice session at Interlagos, Ferrari had serious doubts about whether the affected power unit could safely be used again. Rather than risk further reliability difficulties later in the weekend or at the next Grand Prix, the team decided to take the full sporting penalty in Brazil.
“Yesterday we had a doubt because we were not sure whether we could reuse the engine. I didn’t want to take the risk of having another problem later in the weekend and having to serve a penalty in Las Vegas. Between FP3 and qualifying, changing the engine had effectively become free,” Fred Vasseur explained after the race.
The reasoning was straightforward. With Lewis Hamilton already facing a major grid drop, introducing additional fresh power unit components would not significantly worsen his practical starting position.
Ferrari therefore chose to absorb the consequences of the replacement at Interlagos rather than risk carrying potentially compromised components into the closing stages of the championship.
Ferrari’s hybrid failure was not caused by a broken combustion engine
Importantly, the internal combustion engine itself had not failed. The problem was also not directly caused by the first new ICE introduced earlier during the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend.
Instead, the failure involved certain temperatures associated with the hybrid system, a type of technical issue Ferrari had not encountered so directly during the 2026 season.
Although replacing only the components necessary to resolve the problem would have been possible, that approach would still have resulted in a substantial penalty.
At that stage, the difference between accumulating 20 grid places or 65 was largely irrelevant to the outcome. Lewis Hamilton would have been starting from the back of the field regardless, making a complete power unit replacement the more attractive option from a longer-term reliability perspective.
The decision followed the uncertainty surrounding Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari power unit after FP3, when the team was still assessing whether such extensive work would be necessary.
All seven Ferrari power unit components replaced on Lewis Hamilton’s SF-26
The intervention involved replacing the entire power unit assembly on Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari SF-26, introducing several fresh components that took the British driver’s seasonal allocation beyond the permitted limits.
The new components fitted to the car were:
- Internal combustion engine (ICE): sixth unit of the season.
- Turbocharger: fifth unit.
- Exhaust system: fifth set.
- Energy store (battery): fourth unit.
- Control electronics: fourth unit.
- MGU-K: fourth unit.
- Auxiliary power unit component: seventh unit.
The complete replacement does not mean that every component had suffered damage. Ferrari took advantage of an already unavoidable grid penalty to install fresh parts, reducing the uncertainty created by an unfamiliar technical failure instead of limiting the work to the minimum required to return Lewis Hamilton to the track.
The cumulative penalty reached 65 grid places, leaving Lewis Hamilton at the back of the field. The situation was significantly more severe than that of teammate Charles Leclerc, who received a ten-place penalty following his own internal combustion engine change. The initial Ferrari engine penalties affecting both drivers had already complicated the team’s preparations before the additional problem emerged.
Why Ferrari sacrificed Interlagos to protect Lewis Hamilton at Las Vegas
The broader objective was to protect Ferrari’s reliability during the final rounds of the 2026 Formula 1 championship. The replacement components are expected to form the power unit package Lewis Hamilton will use for the remainder of the season.
Keeping parts potentially affected by the hybrid-related issue would have meant accepting the possibility of another failure, potentially accompanied by additional grid penalties at upcoming races.
That risk was particularly relevant with the 2026 Las Vegas Grand Prix approaching. Fred Vasseur wanted to avoid reaching the next event with unresolved reliability concerns or being forced into another major component change.
Ferrari’s decision was therefore not simply a reaction to the problem encountered during FP3. It was also a calculated attempt to concentrate the sporting cost of the intervention into a single weekend, when Lewis Hamilton’s starting position was already severely compromised.
By accepting the full 65-place penalty at Interlagos, Ferrari completed the replacement programme and gave Lewis Hamilton a fresh power unit package for the championship finale, while seeking to avoid further reliability problems and penalties in the remaining races.
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