What caused Lewis Hamilton's sudden stop on track during Ferrari SF-26 shakedown
Footage has been circulating on social media of Lewis Hamilton suddenly stopping on track while driving the SF-26
Ferrari unveiled their 2026 F1 challenger during a shakedown in Italy this morning but fans have all been concerned following a sudden on track stoppage.
The Italian outfit marked their reveal with an on track debut for the SF-26 on track with Lewis Hamilton first behind the wheel in Fiorano.
Following a disappointing 2025 campaign that saw Ferrari scoring zero wins, the team will be looking to compete at the front once again this year.
Lewis Hamilton, who notably struggled throughout his debut season with the Scuderia, will also be looking for a major step forward on his last season which saw him fail to score a podium in any of the 24 Grand Prix.
Hamilton was given the honour of taking out the SF-26 for its first ever laps during a wet running in Fiorano, but fans were left scratching their heads when footage emerged of him suddenly stopping the car on track during the demonstration.
What caused Lewis Hamilton to stop on track?
While the event was not broadcast to the public, media and a number of fans were in attendance which resulted in video footage emerging of Hamilton stopping the car on track online.
Footage also circulated on social media showing mechanics running on track to then retrieve the car and return it to the garage.
This naturally caused a lot of speculation online that Ferrari's new car had already run into issues during its very first run.
"e vai parando a Ferrari..."pic.twitter.com/GgASmHGSyJ
— Estagiário da F1 (@EstagiariodaF1) January 23, 2026
Ferrari moved quickly to shut down the numerous claims circulating however with the team explaining that the car had not been stopped due to a mechanical issue.
Instead Hamilton had been told to stop on purpose due to a limitation on the amount of running the team was permitted to carry out.
As this was a demo event purely to shake down the car, only 15kms of running are permitted.
Ferrari explained that Hamilton completed two and a half laps and was instructed to stop the car to then allow teammate Charles Leclerc to drive the car for two and a half laps in accordance with the limit.
