Italian Navy plots race of two local machines: an F-35B against a Ferrari

ROME — The F-35B fighter can take off on a very short runway, hover in the air and land vertically, but the Italian navy is about to find out whether it can also outrace a Ferrari.

In an unusual race planned next month at the Navy’s air base at Grottaglie in southern Italy, one of its F-35Bs will go head-to-head with a Ferrari SF90 to see which has the punchier acceleration.

“We are used to getting a result, but this will be tough,” said Fabio Barone, who will be behind the wheel of the SF90 after claiming seven speed records in a Ferrari.

A Navy spokesman confirmed the race would go ahead.

The first race on Oct. 11 will be over 500 meters on an aluminum runway used by the F-35Bs at Grottaglie for landing. At the end of the course the F-35B will take off.

Barone said the car will normally accelerate from zero to 100 km/h in 2.8 seconds, but with special engine tuning it will do it in 2.6 seconds.

A Ferrari SF90 Stradale is on display in Bari, Italy, on April 9, 2026. (Donato Fasano/Getty Images)

That will allow the car to reach 330 km/h over the 500 meters and complete the course in 8-9 seconds.

“With that acceleration, I will face 2.2g, meaning 140kg of pressure,” he said.

“The F35B will make a slower start but has more power,” he added.

A second race, on asphalt and aluminium, will be run over 2.8 km. After 500 meters the F-35B will take over and complete the race in flight at

an altitude of about 20 metres.

Barone, 54, said the car and the aircraft will race together on one 35 meter wide runway, meaning there will be just 15 meters between them.

“We will be very close,” he said. “The challenge will be driving over the aluminium plates, which will create vibration,” he added.

Asked why exactly he was keen to race against a jet fighter, Barone said, “Everyone can race against another car, and this is a chance to put on a show. Additionally, Michael Schumacher did it,” he said.

In 2003, the former Formula One driver drove a Ferrari Formula One car in races with an Italian Air Force Eurofighter at Italy’s Grosseto air base - an event which drew a crowd of 50,000.

The Eurofighter won 900- and 1,200–meter races without taking off. Schumacher however won a 600-meter race, accelerating from the starting line to reach 294 km/h and complete the course in 9.6 seconds, beating the Eurofighter by two-tenths of a second.

Barone previously worked with the Italian Navy when he drove a Ferrari last year along the flight deck of the Navy’s new Trieste carrier vessel, reaching 164 km/h over about 200 meters before slamming on the brakes to avoid flying off the end of the ship.

Tom Kington is the Italy correspondent for Defense News.

罗马——F-35B战斗机可以在很短的跑道上起飞，在空中悬停并垂直降落，但意大利海军即将发现它是否也能在速度上胜过法拉利。

下个月，在意大利南部格罗塔列海军空军基地将举行一场不同寻常的比赛，届时一架F-35B战斗机将与一辆法拉利SF90跑车进行正面较量，看看哪辆车的加速性能更强劲。

“我们习惯于取得成绩，但这将会很艰难，”法比奥·巴罗内说道，他将驾驶SF90赛车，此前他曾驾驶法拉利赛车创造了七项速度纪录。

海军发言人证实比赛将如期举行。

10月11日的首场比赛将在格罗塔列空军基地F-35B战斗机起降使用的铝制跑道上进行，赛程超过500米。比赛结束后，F-35B战斗机将起飞。

巴罗内表示，这辆车通常从零加速到 100 公里/小时需要 2.8 秒，但经过特殊的发动机调校后，只需 2.6 秒即可完成。

2026年4月9日，一辆法拉利SF90 Stradale在意大利巴里展出。（Donato Fasano/Getty Images）

这样一来，这辆车就能在 500 米的距离内达到 330 公里/小时的速度，并在 8-9 秒内完成比赛。

“在这种加速度下，我将面临 2.2g 的重力加速度，这意味着 140 公斤的压力，”他说。

“F35B 起步会比较慢，但动力更强劲，”他补充道。

第二场比赛将在沥青和铝制路面上进行，全程2.8公里。比赛进行到500米后，F-35B战斗机将接替跑者，并在空中完成剩余赛程。

海拔约20米。

54岁的巴罗内表示，汽车和飞机将在同一条35米宽的跑道上进行比赛，这意味着它们之间只有15米的距离。

“我们会非常接近终点，”他说。“挑战在于如何驶过铝板，这会产生震动，”他补充道。

当被问及为何如此热衷于与喷气式战斗机比赛时，巴罗内说：“每个人都可以和其他汽车比赛，这是一个表演的机会。此外，迈克尔·舒马赫也这样做过。”

2003 年，这位前一级方程式赛车手驾驶法拉利一级方程式赛车在意大利格罗塞托空军基地与意大利空军的台风战斗机进行了一场比赛——这一赛事吸引了 5 万名观众。

欧洲战斗机在未起飞的情况下赢得了 900 米和 1200 米比赛的冠军。然而，舒马赫赢得了 600 米比赛的冠军，他从起跑线加速到 294 公里/小时，并在 9.6 秒内完成了比赛，比欧洲战斗机快了十分之二秒。

巴罗内此前曾与意大利海军合作，去年他驾驶一辆法拉利跑车沿着海军新航母“的里雅斯特”号的飞行甲板行驶，在约 200 米的距离内达到了 164 公里/小时的速度，然后猛踩刹车以避免飞出船尾。

汤姆·金顿是《防务新闻》驻意大利记者。