Ferrari tight-lipped over ‘small issue’ that halted Lewis Hamilton

Ferrari has refused to give much away about the problem which curtailed Lewis Hamilton’s running on the penultimate day of 2026 Formula 1 pre-season testing.

Hamilton completed just five laps before an issue forced the seven-time world champion to return to the garage and lose nearly three hours of track time during Thursday’s morning session.

The 41-year-old Briton did return just before the lunch break to take part in the FIA’s practice start procedure, with Hamilton enjoying a strong launch that saw him jump former Mercedes teammate George Russell.

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur was quick to downplay his team’s first major setback, pointing to the strong reliability and mileage the Italian side has enjoyed so far in pre-season testing.

“We had a small issue that stopped the car for three hours,” Vasseur said during Thursday’s FIA press conference.

"We are also preparing parts to go to Melbourne. On some items we are a bit short but it went very well on the reliability.”

Ferrari turned heads on Thursday morning when Hamilton debuted an innovative ‘upside down’ rear wing on his SF-26.

“Ferrari have discovered something quite clever in the regulations, I feel. It doesn’t specify that the wing has to be mounted the right way up when active aero is deployed,” technical expert Sam Collins told Sky Sports F1.

“That means they can run the wing upside down as the car goes down the straight. An upside down aircraft-wing confirmation should reduce aerodynamic drag, because it’s even generating a bit of lift.

“Then they’ve come up with a mechanism to allow it to rotate all the way around. That is something nobody else in F1 has tried yet. I think Ferrari just tried it very briefly right at the very start of the day and hoped nobody else would notice.”

Hamilton will complete the remainder of Thursday’s test to conclude his pre-season testing programme, before teammate Charles Leclerc takes over for the final day of running on Friday.