The end of 2025 saw all of the WEC-only Hypercars re-homologated using the now compulsory Windshear wind tunnel in Concord North Carolina, USA, replacing the previous tests at Sauber’s facility in Hinwil, Switzerland.
Whilst the press release accompanying the Ferrari team’s new livery for 2026 was explicit that this had led to some changes, those were not seen at the launch as the livery was revealed on a 2025-spec 499P.
Indeed, the assembled media had seen the first of the 2026 cars rolled out earlier in the day at Fiorano, but from a distance and with no photography permitted.
A post-launch briefing session, though with Global Head of Endurance and Corse Clienti Antonello Coletta and Head of Endurance Race Cars Ferdinando Canizzo revealed that several of the subsequent changes are both significant and visible. They are a result of the re-positioning of the car within Hypercar’s defined performance window, but, as a re-homologation package, not falling within the necessity of a required aerodynamic ‘Joker’ change package.
“We have repositioned the vehicle with new aerodynamics. This is because the Federation required this of us, and therefore it is crucially important to understand where we will be, and we will be able to discover this only in Qatar at our first race, and then as the championship progresses,” Antonello Colletta told assembled reporters.
Let’s put that another way, coupled with the introduction of the new-for-2026 Michelin tyres, and alongside significant upgrades being introduced for many of the other cars, World Champions Ferrari will arrive in Qatar with significant uncertainty as to where they stand against their major competitors.
As for the specific changes to the 2025-spec 499P, Ferdinando Cannizzo walked his audience through some of the tweaks: (all pictures below are of a 2025 spec 499P)
“If we start from the front, and you will see this quite easily, we rechecked all the flicks on the bumpers (Believed to be a reference to smaller front dive planes – understood to be c.60-70% the size of the 2025 items).
“We changed the way we change the air flows on the upper body above the wheel by removing, following the request of the Federation, some gurneys (just forward of the cockpit door on the topside of the body- below) and we replaced them with true aerodynamic surfaces. On the front of the underfloor, we ‘tweaked’ the flow deviation mechanisms in order to adjust the balancing of the vehicle.
“At the back there’s a small gurney on the outlet which we have on the underside of the side panels, and, more importantly we have redesigned the engine cover removing a large gurney which we had on the trailing edge.
“We have a much bigger gurney on the rear wing plates, and we have redesigned the sidewall, behind the back wheels in order to optimise aerodynamic flow.
“These are the intervention areas. They are minimal, but they are effective, and they allowed us, without touching the main surfaces of the vehicle, to reposition in this performance window.”
On the tyre front, Colletta was specific:
“Starting from 2023, they are completely different, and this will be new for everybody. We will be in the same situation and it will be important to understand this as much as possible both for all our technicians and for all our drivers, to interpret this better, how to emerge 100% by the management of the tires, because as we’ve seen in the last few years, one of the main differences has been exactly this, to be able to manage the tires well and to be able to manage them throughout various stints and to be able to pull out the maximum performance from this tire.
“We will have to be good at understanding this quickly. Unfortunately, we’ve tested very little. This is what we do nowadays. We don’t have a lot of trials and tests, which is a shame because tests help us to improve, and this makes it stronger and stronger. We are all in the same situation, and we will see, and we hope to be able to improve this way too with this new form of tyre.”
So Ferrari has made significant changes as a result of the rehomologation at Windshear – what of their competition?
Genesis have a brand new car, BMW, Toyota, Cadillac and Alpine are all bringing cars with significant Joker packages, BMW and Cadillac already had Windshear-homologated packages due to their IMSA GTP programmes.
Aston Martin too had the Valkyrie already tested at Windshear.
So that leaves Peugeot, who will have taken the latest iteration of the 9X8 through Windshear post the 2025 season. Whilst DSC has no confirmation of changes, it seems likely that the Peugeot too may have some changes for 2026 as a result, small changes or not the margins in Hypercar are tiny at times, a subtle repositioning could give us a very different looking form book coming into Qatar – and beyond!
