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Ferrari will use steel alloy cylinders in their 2026 engine, risking weight for reliability and performance as Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton join the title push.
Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton at the Las Vegas GP Qualifying (AP)
With 2026 fast approaching, the pressure on Ferrari is unmistakable and arguably greater than on any other front-running team.
Ferrari remain the only established powerhouse to have gone without a world title across the 2010s and early 2020s. That drought would be uncomfortable in any era.
With Charles Leclerc in his prime and Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari chapter looming large, it becomes unacceptable.
Amid the noise about Mercedes (and their engine compression ratio trick), Ferrari’s progress has gone largely under the radar.
But make no mistake: Maranello are gambling big.
Reports late in 2025 suggested Ferrari were encountering hurdles with their 2026 engine, the result of a deliberately high-risk and unconventional philosophy. Now, fresh details underline just how radical that approach really is.
According to it.motorsportFerrari will use steel alloy cylinders in their 2026 power unit — rejecting aluminium, the industry standard. It’s a bold call. Steel is heavier, which is never welcome in a regulation set where weight will already be a major battleground.
Yet Ferrari believe the trade-off is worth it.
Under the direction of Davide Mazzoni, the Scuderia have concluded that steel’s ability to tolerate higher temperatures and pressures could unlock greater performance and reliability. Stronger materials allow engineers to push harder, opening the door to more aggressive combustion, improved electrical efficiency and bolder upgrades as the season develops.
Reliability has long been a concern for Ferrari, and this solution is designed to address it head-on.
History offers encouragement. When the 2022 rules debuted, several teams began the season overweight — only Sauber hit the minimum limit early. The rest clawed the weight back over time, erasing the disadvantage.
Ferrari are betting the same will happen again.
For Fred Vasseur and his technical team, the logic is simple: no risk, no reward. Pre-season testing will be the first true verdict on whether Ferrari’s steel gamble is genius or desperation.
January 01, 2026, 9:30 PM IST
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