Hamilton starts add to mounting Ferrari evidence as rotating rear wing spotted – roundup
Lewis Hamilton is entering his second full season as a Ferrari driver in 2026
Thursday’s fast-paced F1 news includes Lewis Hamilton’s practice start in Bahrain adding to the growing evidence that Ferrari could have a key advantage at the start of F1 2026.
With Ferrari debuting an innovative new rear wing design in Bahrain, here’s today’s roundup…
Lewis Hamilton start performance adds to Ferrari F1 2026 theory
Lewis Hamilton’s impressive practice starts in Bahrain testing has added to the theory that Ferrari could have an advantage off the line in F1 2026.
Mercedes driver George Russell claimed last week that Ferrari could have an edge with race starts due to the team’s smaller turbo compared to the opposition.
F1 is trialling a revised practice start procedure in this week’s Bahrain test amid safety concerns over the F1 2026 cars, with Hamilton impressing off the line on Thursday.
Read more: Blistering Lewis Hamilton practice start adds more weight to Ferrari F1 2026 theory
Ferrari debuts rotating rear wing in Bahrain F1 2026 testing
Ferrari debuted a highly innovative rotating rear wing during Thursday’s test running in Bahrain.
But could the potential negatives outweigh the positives?
PlanetF1.com tech editor Matt Somerfield writes that other teams considered a similar design for F1 2026, but ruled it out over possible drawbacks. These include a sail-like effect as the wing opens and closes.
Read more: F1 Testing: Ferrari unveils radical rotating active rear wing
Williams responds to new Ferrari rear wing
James Vowles, the Williams team principal, says a Ferrari-style rear wing design was not on the team’s “radar” with the design of its F1 2026 car.
Ferrari’s rear wing was the talk of the town on Thursday in Bahrain with Vowles describing the design as “an interesting direction of travel.”
He admitted that Williams was not among the teams to have considered a similar approach.
Read more: James Vowles offers early take on radical Ferrari rear wing design
Honda confirms power unit issue as Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin stops on track
Honda confirmed to PlanetF1.com that a power unit issue caused Fernando Alonso’s stoppage in Bahrain on Thursday.
Alonso came to a halt at Turn 4 after less than an hour of afternoon running with Aston Martin ruled out for the rest of the day.
Alonso was limited to just 68 laps on Thursday with teammate Lance Stroll also bringing out the red flags on Wednesday.
Read more: F1 Testing: Antonelli puts Mercedes on top as Alonso causes red flag after Honda PU issue
FIA explains F1 2026 e-vote amid PU loophole saga
FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis has explained why the F1 2026 power unit manufacturers have been given until August to make changes, should an e-vote result in an amendment to the regulations.
On Wednesday, the FIA confirmed it has launched an e-vote amongst the members of the power unit advisory committee [PUAC] to evaluate regulatory change to introduce a new compression ratio measurement protocol.
The e-vote is intended to draw a line under an ongoing situation regarding the geometric compression ratio measurement protocols of the power units.
Read more: Why FIA has given power unit manufacturers August deadline in compression ratio saga
