2026 Scuderia Ferrari HP F1 Team

[Luscion]

​Question: What kind of Frédéric do we have tonight? Is it someone who is happy with the overall result because it's 4th and 5th, or are we saying that there was perhaps a bit more to go for?

Fred -

- "A bit mixed after the race. I think the positive thing is that the pace was there. The pace was there yesterday in the sprint, and it was working really well today. However, I think we were bad on execution. We had a second start with Charles where we lost a position even though we were on softs. We also had a bad pit stop with Charles; Charles wasn't very happy at the time of the VSC. A bit on Lewis's side too, I think he lost 2 positions at the start. The whole weekend unfortunately was difficult in terms of execution. Whereas, I think the pace during the race was really good, and we are paying the price for our poor qualifying. There is a lot of analytical work to do to find out what we did wrong in this F1 weekend and what we could have done better today. I think the potential was good."

"It's very difficult to read the race because the strategy wasn't clear. I don't think it was clear for anyone; the top two started on mediums and then went to softs. We were all searching because there isn't really a difference between the tires. And as a result, we just didn't know. Naturally, we were mostly trying to learn from the race as it went on. So, compared to the initial plans, there were a lot of changes during the race. I understand for the drivers that it can sometimes be a bit frustrating when they expect to put on a set of mediums, and when we pit them, we put on hards or we put on softs. But we always do it hoping for the best."

[Wynters]

Sabotaged it to be frank. He should have ran from here as soon as Hamilton was contracted as Elkan's darling.

Yes, it all makes sense. They extended Leclerc's contract so they could waste their time and money sabotaging him! Of course! The Ferrari F1 team isn't actually there to race, it only exists to make sure Leclerc can't go quite as quickly around a racetrack as he might otherwise through the use of obvious strategy blunders rather than any of the numerous invisible ways they could use to slow him down. And, even more treacherously, they pay him millions of dollars at the same time! What an obvious evil scheme! Poor Charles clearly lacks your insight in to his situation. You should tell him.

[Sphere3758]

I love when hamilton fans finds out that Charles is not a Bottas-type (second driver) of a driver, Lewis could even start properly, and he got lucky with the safety car.
Besides, It’s good to see Leclerc smell the stupid things from the team. That’s how it should be.

Lewis Hamilton is currently P3 in the championship, not Charles Leclerc.

In any serious team, at this point in the championship, the drivers' hierarchy would be clear, with one having a chance at the title and the other not. Mercedes has already relegated Russell to Antonelli's wingman now that McLaren has improved and let him pass without problems.

Leclerc's hyperfocus on H2H cost the team a podium today. Tomorrow it could bury Lewis's championship chances. Leclerc himself destroyed his chances of being on Hamilton's side in the championship fight with five bad races in a row. Now it's too late to react.

At this point, Leclerc helps Ferrari more by helping Hamilton score important championship points than by trying to achieve a high result himself, getting in the middle of Lewis and, through stubbornness and selfishness, costing both of them race positions by driving hard unnecessarily against Lewis.

Do you know the best way to avoid becoming a Bottas 2.0 and being demoted to a wingman on the team? It's to avoid losing important points at the beginning of the season so you can be on equal footing with your teammate throughout the season and receive equal treatment.

You might be impressed by a driver who doesn't easily give up a position to their teammate at any cost in any situation. I'm not, and neither are the team managers, especially when the driver's focus is solely on that during the race.

Lewis has as much chance at the WDC as Leclerc has, around 5%. Yes, he is slightly ahead in points but a comfortable Leclerc will be faster on average and the team knows this. They have over 35 races of data to see this clearly. They are not going to undermine a driver on the longer contract for something with so little probability. It should be common sense in all honesty.

[woocasz]

I love when hamilton fans finds out that Charles is not a Bottas-type (second driver) of a driver, Lewis could even start properly, and he got lucky with the safety car.
Besides, It’s good to see Leclerc smell the stupid things from the team. That’s how it should be.

Lewis Hamilton is currently P3 in the championship, not Charles Leclerc.

In any serious team, at this point in the championship, the drivers' hierarchy would be clear, with one having a chance at the title and the other not. Mercedes has already relegated Russell to Antonelli's wingman now that McLaren has improved and let him pass without problems.

Leclerc's hyperfocus on H2H cost the team a podium today. Tomorrow it could bury Lewis's championship chances. Leclerc himself destroyed his chances of being on Hamilton's side in the championship fight with five bad races in a row. Now it's too late to react.

At this point, Leclerc helps Ferrari more by helping Hamilton score important championship points than by trying to achieve a high result himself, getting in the middle of Lewis and, through stubbornness and selfishness, costing both of them race positions by driving hard unnecessarily against Lewis.

Do you know the best way to avoid becoming a Bottas 2.0 and being demoted to a wingman on the team? It's to avoid losing important points at the beginning of the season so you can be on equal footing with your teammate throughout the season and receive equal treatment.

You might be impressed by a driver who doesn't easily give up a position to their teammate at any cost in any situation. I'm not, and neither are the team managers, especially when the driver's focus is solely on that during the race.

you do realize that, during Brembo saga, Charles lost at least 40 points cause of the braking issue.
last 4 races:
72-51 in Charles’s favour
if you want to win races you have to beat your teammate on merit (not only because lucky VSC or technical problem)
What sort of champion is he, if he can’t beat a teammate on merit?
dont forget Lewis is due to DNF this season.

[Wynters]

Lewis has as much chance at the WDC as Leclerc has, around 5%. Yes, he is slightly ahead in points but a comfortable Leclerc will be faster on average and the team knows this. They have over 35 races of data to see this clearly. They are not going to undermine a driver on the longer contract for something with so little probability. It should be common sense in all honesty.

Absolutely! They also shouldn't allow their drivers to cost each other time though, regardless of who is where on the track. Ferrari are a team of employees and they should be maximising WCC points at every opportunity.

[mzso]

Sabotaged it to be frank. He should have ran from here as soon as Hamilton was contracted as Elkan's darling.

Yes, it all makes sense. They extended Leclerc's contract so they could waste their time and money sabotaging him! Of course! The Ferrari F1 team isn't actually there to race, it only exists to make sure Leclerc can't go quite as quickly around a racetrack as he might otherwise through the use of obvious strategy blunders rather than any of the numerous invisible ways they could use to slow him down. And, even more treacherously, they pay him millions of dollars at the same time! What an obvious evil scheme! Poor Charles clearly lacks your insight in to his situation. You should tell him.

Yes it does makes sense because it's nonsensical and it's Ferrari... And they think they can get away with constantly screwing up, and alienating the driver they can count on on a longer term. Even Leclerc will get disillusioned with this eventually.

[Mosin123]

I love when hamilton fans finds out that Charles is not a Bottas-type (second driver) of a driver, Lewis could even start properly, and he got lucky with the safety car.
Besides, It’s good to see Leclerc smell the stupid things from the team. That’s how it should be.

Lewis Hamilton is currently P3 in the championship, not Charles Leclerc.

In any serious team, at this point in the championship, the drivers' hierarchy would be clear, with one having a chance at the title and the other not. Mercedes has already relegated Russell to Antonelli's wingman now that McLaren has improved and let him pass without problems.

Leclerc's hyperfocus on H2H cost the team a podium today. Tomorrow it could bury Lewis's championship chances. Leclerc himself destroyed his chances of being on Hamilton's side in the championship fight with five bad races in a row. Now it's too late to react.

At this point, Leclerc helps Ferrari more by helping Hamilton score important championship points than by trying to achieve a high result himself, getting in the middle of Lewis and, through stubbornness and selfishness, costing both of them race positions by driving hard unnecessarily against Lewis.

Do you know the best way to avoid becoming a Bottas 2.0 and being demoted to a wingman on the team? It's to avoid losing important points at the beginning of the season so you can be on equal footing with your teammate throughout the season and receive equal treatment.

You might be impressed by a driver who doesn't easily give up a position to their teammate at any cost in any situation. I'm not, and neither are the team managers, especially when the driver's focus is solely on that during the race.

you do realize that, during Brembo saga, Charles lost at least 40 points cause of the braking issue.
last 4 races:
72-51 in Charles’s favour
if you want to win races you have to beat your teammate on merit (not only because lucky VSC or technical problem)
What sort of champion is he, if he can’t beat a teammate on merit?
dont forget Lewis is due to DNF this season.

Because CL failed to listen to his team who told him the other brakes was better- but CL was like Nah man, i like these brakes so me use these brakes becasue me know better - i dont care if LH come in and these he has are much better, i want the slower ones, then when i make mistake with bad brakes like the team said, ill blame the team and not me... you mean them brakes?

[Gabriox]

Lewis Hamilton is currently P3 in the championship, not Charles Leclerc.

In any serious team, at this point in the championship, the drivers' hierarchy would be clear, with one having a chance at the title and the other not. Mercedes has already relegated Russell to Antonelli's wingman now that McLaren has improved and let him pass without problems.

Leclerc's hyperfocus on H2H cost the team a podium today. Tomorrow it could bury Lewis's championship chances. Leclerc himself destroyed his chances of being on Hamilton's side in the championship fight with five bad races in a row. Now it's too late to react.

At this point, Leclerc helps Ferrari more by helping Hamilton score important championship points than by trying to achieve a high result himself, getting in the middle of Lewis and, through stubbornness and selfishness, costing both of them race positions by driving hard unnecessarily against Lewis.

Do you know the best way to avoid becoming a Bottas 2.0 and being demoted to a wingman on the team? It's to avoid losing important points at the beginning of the season so you can be on equal footing with your teammate throughout the season and receive equal treatment.

You might be impressed by a driver who doesn't easily give up a position to their teammate at any cost in any situation. I'm not, and neither are the team managers, especially when the driver's focus is solely on that during the race.

you do realize that, during Brembo saga, Charles lost at least 40 points cause of the braking issue.
last 4 races:
72-51 in Charles’s favour
if you want to win races you have to beat your teammate on merit (not only because lucky VSC or technical problem)
What sort of champion is he, if he can’t beat a teammate on merit?
dont forget Lewis is due to DNF this season.

Because CL failed to listen to his team who told him the other brakes was better- but CL was like Nah man, i like these brakes so me use these brakes becasue me know better - i dont care if LH come in and these he has are much better, i want the slower ones, then when i make mistake with bad brakes like the team said, ill blame the team and not me... you mean them brakes?

Correct! Charles doesn't know how to be a world champion at this point. He solely cares about beating his teammates. That was a problem with him and vettle as well. So concentrated on beating his team mate

[jurinius]

Maybe one Team expert here can explain what was leclerc move on Lewis in the last lap ? This should have bring additional points to the team right ? Nice attempt Charles the champion of winning teammates... and let's continue like this to Monza. Forza Ferrari

[Sphere3758]

Maybe one Team expert here can explain what was leclerc move on Lewis in the last lap ? This should have bring additional points to the team right ? Nice attempt Charles the champion of winning teammates... and let's continue like this to Monza. Forza Ferrari

Mate, Lewis would’ve tried exactly the same if the situation was reversed. And you would be applauding

[f1316]

Maybe one Team expert here can explain what was leclerc move on Lewis in the last lap ? This should have bring additional points to the team right ? Nice attempt Charles the champion of winning teammates... and let's continue like this to Monza. Forza Ferrari

Mate, Lewis would’ve tried exactly the same if the situation was reversed. And you would be applauding

I actually agree that it was stupid trying that and cost Lewis (and therefore the team) any chance of a podium. That said, pitting Charles at the same time as Lewis was very strange imo and they kinda screwed him there. The bad luck of the VSC when Lewis was just about to pass George is just typical - not only do we mess ourselves up but we don’t get the rub of the green.

Anyway, Fred is right that the pace looked pretty good - I think Norris was stronger once he got rid of the mediums, but he was the only one with better race pace than the Ferraris imo. I hope eventually these encouraging signs actually come together to make a car that actually qualifies on pole and can regularly win races on merit but if ADUO2 doesn’t give us that, I think that’s this year done in terms of championships.

[PlatinumZealot]

Monza is next. Is ADUO 2 coming for it?

[Luscion]

Monza is next. Is ADUO 2 coming for it?

yea, last i heard its only worth around 15hp though

[woocasz]

Lewis Hamilton is currently P3 in the championship, not Charles Leclerc.

In any serious team, at this point in the championship, the drivers' hierarchy would be clear, with one having a chance at the title and the other not. Mercedes has already relegated Russell to Antonelli's wingman now that McLaren has improved and let him pass without problems.

Leclerc's hyperfocus on H2H cost the team a podium today. Tomorrow it could bury Lewis's championship chances. Leclerc himself destroyed his chances of being on Hamilton's side in the championship fight with five bad races in a row. Now it's too late to react.

At this point, Leclerc helps Ferrari more by helping Hamilton score important championship points than by trying to achieve a high result himself, getting in the middle of Lewis and, through stubbornness and selfishness, costing both of them race positions by driving hard unnecessarily against Lewis.

Do you know the best way to avoid becoming a Bottas 2.0 and being demoted to a wingman on the team? It's to avoid losing important points at the beginning of the season so you can be on equal footing with your teammate throughout the season and receive equal treatment.

You might be impressed by a driver who doesn't easily give up a position to their teammate at any cost in any situation. I'm not, and neither are the team managers, especially when the driver's focus is solely on that during the race.

you do realize that, during Brembo saga, Charles lost at least 40 points cause of the braking issue.
last 4 races:
72-51 in Charles’s favour
if you want to win races you have to beat your teammate on merit (not only because lucky VSC or technical problem)
What sort of champion is he, if he can’t beat a teammate on merit?
dont forget Lewis is due to DNF this season.

Because CL failed to listen to his team who told him the other brakes was better- but CL was like Nah man, i like these brakes so me use these brakes becasue me know better - i dont care if LH come in and these he has are much better, i want the slower ones, then when i make mistake with bad brakes like the team said, ill blame the team and not me... you mean them brakes?

OK, let’s start from the beginning.

Can you explain to me why Charles didn’t have any brake problems in the first three races? Australia, China and Japan? (49–41pts in Charles’s favour)

Round 4: Miami Grand Prix: Ferrari brought its first major upgrade package, including updated rear suspension and braking system.
The updates introduced in Miami have changed the way the team uses the braking system (including for tyre temperature management). As a result, Leclerc has lost the ‘feel’ he had at the start of the season.

Loic Serra, who was responsible, amongst other things, for these modifications, had previously worked with Lewis at Mercedes and had previous experience with Carbone Industrie brakes. This was one of the reasons behind the introduction of these changes, from which, notably, Hamilton benefited.

From the Spanish Grand Prix onwards, Charles started using CI pads and disc; the rest are still from Brembo.

Now that Charles feels comfortable with the CI brakes, it’s clear from the results: the last four races (76–58pts in Charles’s favour)

There are 11 races left until the end of the season.

[Wynters]

if you want to win races you have to beat your teammate on merit (not only because lucky VSC or technical problem)

That's demonstrably untrue. It is common for drivers to win races because their teammates suffer from bad luck or technical problems.

What sort of champion is he, if he can’t beat a teammate on merit?

One with over 100 races wins and 7 WDCs across multiple regulations and with multiple teams, whilst regularly beating WDCs who are driving the other car?

At the moment, Ferrari are not doing a flawless job in supporting either of their drivers, but they are still a comfortable 2nd in the WCC because they have two competent drivers. As a comparison, RBR have barely half Ferrari's points (despite having the best engine by a significant margin). I appreciate that you don't like Ferrari having two competent drivers but it's demonstrably better for Ferrari that they do and, I would argue, better for Leclerc that they do. The handful of points he might lose out on because he team mate finishes in front of him is more than offset by the ability to share knowledge and setup data across the team and the intrinsic motivation and renewed focus that a competitive team mate brings. Leclerc is also clearly the future and Hamilton has been in an age-driven decline for a while so if Leclerc is the driver that I (and you) think he is then he should (and likely will) start beating Hamilton regularly. If not this year, then next. And this year doesn't matter because Leclerc isn't going to win the WDC, regardless of who is in the other car. But he is going to be a better driver next year, because of Ferrari's decision to pair him with Hamilton.