On the very first day of preseason testing, Sergio Perez may have changed the conversation for Ferrari. Reports suggest Cadillac’s Ferrari-powered car ran smoothly, offering the Scuderia long-awaited reassurance about its 2026 engine project.
Ferrari received the most eagerly awaited news for the 2026 Formula 1 World Championship thanks to Sergio Pérez and his work with Cadillac on the first day of preseason testing.
According to information revealed by Motorsport Italia, the Maranello team received positive reports from the American team about the reliability of the engine.
"In the Cavallino garage, there is cautious optimism about the positive data collected on the power units fitted to the customer teams' cars: both Haas with Esteban Ocon and Cadillac with Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Pérez seem to have been able to run regularly without experiencing any serious technical problems.
"According to rumors, the teams may have used non-approved fuels: according to Motorsport.com, there has been no return to fossil-based gasoline as some have mentioned, but rather the FIA has simply authorized the teams to use a specification prior to the one presented, to avoid the supply problems that seem to be at the beginning of a new technical cycle introducing sustainable fuels.
“The Scuderia will take to the track on Tuesday in direct confrontation with the competition: the focus will not be on performance, but on confirming the data, also because there is a high risk of rain,” they said.
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Which engine will each F1 team use in 2026?
The top category of motorsport is a competition between drivers, but also between engineering, technology, and industrial development, driven to maximum power by millions of dollars.
However, there are some important differences between teams in terms of structure, the companies behind them, and their legacy in other categories of motorsport.
While no definitive conclusions can be drawn from a single day of testing, the early signals coming from Ferrari's customer teams offer a fascinating glimpse into what could be unfolding behind the scenes ahead of 2026. With new power-unit regulations, sustainable fuels, and shifting alliances across the grid, every data point carries added weight. What Ferrari does with this information—and how rivals respond—could quietly shape the competitive landscape long before the lights go out for the first race of the new era.
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