2026 Scuderia Ferrari HP F1 Team

[Gillian]

The driver drama is a distraction from what the team really needs to focus on - even with the much hyped ADUO2 upgrade the car is still too slow on the straights. Forget fighting Mercedes, Max was driving by the Ferraris like they were back markers. The VCARB cars absolutely monstered Bearman down the straights. They need to find more ICE output for 2027 or things will just get worse with a 5% higher fuel flow.

The VCARBs have a macarena wing and Haas doesn't. Furthermore, Ferrari still elected to run a very extensive exhaust wing setup which cost horsepower:
...

At the same time, Red Bull chose to remove their exhaust bracket completely for Monza. This was noted in Red Bull's update sheet:

...

Ferrari also chose to run the inefficient "cat ears" from the high downforce spec, while every other team removed them for Monza:

...

So these are significant factors in why Ferrari's appeared "slow" on the straights. It's not a reflection of the real PU gap. The ADUO 2 engine is probably very good. The difference between the two Haas cars was massive (Bearman on new spec, Ocon on old spec). Ferrari just ran a package with a higher energy consumption compared to others around them.

Thank you, very interesting. What could be genuine reasons for Ferrari to keep this package? Maybe I'm reading it wrong but it seems like very easy things to change which could have made a big difference.

[Just_a_fan]

Ferrari also chose to run the inefficient "cat ears" from the high downforce spec, while every other team removed them for Monza:

https://i.postimg.cc/Vvj4nmk0/image.png


So these are significant factors in why Ferrari's appeared "slow" on the straights. It's not a reflection of the real PU gap. The ADUO 2 engine is probably very good. The difference between the two Haas cars was massive (Bearman on new spec, Ocon on old spec). Ferrari just ran a package with a higher energy consumption compared to others around them.

Possibly they thought that it would give them a tyre life advantage and allow for a bit more corner speed on to the various straight bits. Always a tricky decision to make - indeed, one thinks of the split aero strategy that McLaren tried with Button and Hamilton in 2010 (which was decisively favourable for the high downforce set up used by Button). Yes, Button had the f-duct to reduce his drag but his top speed was fully 15km/h slower than Hamilton showed with the traditional low drag wing. But Button's set up was the one that allowed him to start and finish in P2 (Hamilton broke his car against Massa's in to the first chicane).

[AR3-GP]

Thank you, very interesting. What could be genuine reasons for Ferrari to keep this package? Maybe I'm reading it wrong but it seems like very easy things to change which could have made a big difference.

It's as Toto Wolff suggested some time ago. The Ferrari concept is built around a higher downforce specification. It doesn't work without the exhaust blowing. The exhaust blowing is what keeps the airflows attached to the steeply inclined surfaces at the back of the car. They can't do what Red Bull did (remove the bracket) without causing issues with the stability of the aero load and the balance. For Red Bull, their integration of exhaust blowing is a cheap copy, so they aren't getting much more aero load from it (and don't lose much aero load without it). However, they could get slightly more power by not having the exhaust blocked up.

[CMSMJ1]

My view - Max - and with a defined no2 would be about the only chance to make it work. He is old enough to have the weight of his opinion taken seriously.
I can't think of any other driver of the right age and performance that would do it

Given a suitable car and a tame no.2, frankly half a dozen drivers could do it - even the two old sods. Max is nothing special in that regard.

Do you think that any of the top 6 drivers, were they solely no1, could really make Ferrari into a winner?

I am sure you're as old as me.. and so it always used to be that it was Scheckter as the last WDC and it was a long 21yr wait for Schumi...and then, it all fell to bits as they had Kimi and Massa vying for no1 and another 20 years...

The same reasons that McLaren have taken so long - is it a misplaced 'fairness'?

[Emag]

Thank you, very interesting. What could be genuine reasons for Ferrari to keep this package? Maybe I'm reading it wrong but it seems like very easy things to change which could have made a big difference.

It's as Toto Wolff suggested some time ago. The Ferrari concept is built around a higher downforce specification. It doesn't work without the exhaust blowing. The exhaust blowing is what keeps the airflows attached to the steeply inclined surfaces at the back of the car. They can't do what Red Bull did (remove the bracket) without causing issues with the stability of the aero load and the balance. For Red Bull, their integration of exhaust blowing is a cheap copy, so they aren't getting much more aero load from it (and don't lose much aero load without it). However, they could get slightly more power by not having the exhaust blocked up.

Sometimes Ferrari are "too smart" for their own good. I love some of the things they make, but I do wonder if all this overcomplication strays them a bit from the ultimate goal of having the fastest car. I mean, in the last 3-4 big rule changes, the Ferraris were usually the most aggressive and unique "out of the box" concepts. So much going on. Perhaps a little bit too much.

I don't want to be the guy who complains about this, because truth be told I love these type of things in this sport and their radicality is one of my favorite Ferrari attributes, however one can wonder if they perhaps stopped trying "over-engineering" solutions and instead directed their efforts towards elevating fundamentals, it might give them better results. Just looking at McLaren, a car that does not scream for attention, yet everything that a Formula 1 car needs to be competitive is pushed to the limits. It has been like that for them for a couple of years now and it seems to be working.

[edu2703]

I wonder if Leclerc damaged his engine in the accident and will be forced to race in Madrid and future races with a weaker pre-ADUO 2 engine or take an engine penalty if the cost cap allows it.

[Luscion]

I wonder if Leclerc damaged his engine in the accident and will be forced to race in Madrid and future races with a weaker pre-ADUO 2 engine or take an engine penalty if the cost cap allows it.

I'm wondering that too, he went in rear first and left the engine running when he got out. Fred said the engine probably took a knock as well

[Ollywood1987]

The most sensible post so far. Kudos to you Olly. You described the whole situation with Ferrari this year perfectly. Wanted to add something to what you mentioned. The distance after the Spanish GP was 40 points with Ferrari having the momentum and able to win over Mercedes and yet Ferrari being the usual Ferrari 18 years now threw it all away instead of doing the bare minimum a team that wants the championship does.

Thank you! Took me a while to type out on my phone. Shame the mods have now deleted the post….

[CMSMJ1]

The most sensible post so far. Kudos to you Olly. You described the whole situation with Ferrari this year perfectly. Wanted to add something to what you mentioned. The distance after the Spanish GP was 40 points with Ferrari having the momentum and able to win over Mercedes and yet Ferrari being the usual Ferrari 18 years now threw it all away instead of doing the bare minimum a team that wants the championship does.

Thank you! Took me a while to type out on my phone. Shame the mods have now deleted the post….

I deleted yours and Darth 's as prime driver argument bait.

[Ollywood1987]

The most sensible post so far. Kudos to you Olly. You described the whole situation with Ferrari this year perfectly. Wanted to add something to what you mentioned. The distance after the Spanish GP was 40 points with Ferrari having the momentum and able to win over Mercedes and yet Ferrari being the usual Ferrari 18 years now threw it all away instead of doing the bare minimum a team that wants the championship does.

Thank you! Took me a while to type out on my phone. Shame the mods have now deleted the post….

I deleted yours and Darth 's as prime driver argument bait.

Prime driver argument bait?! That is a genuinely bizarre reading of what I wrote.

I went out of my way to criticise Hamilton where criticism was due, praise Leclerc where praise was due, acknowledge genuine technical issues on Charles’ side, and even explicitly said Ferrari should prioritise Leclerc if the championship positions were reversed.

If that still qualifies as “prime driver argument bait”, then apparently any serious discussion of Ferrari’s 2026 season is going to be impossible the second either driver’s performance enters the conversation.

Which is ridiculous, because driver performance, team orders, race management and championship prioritisation are not separate from Ferrari’s technical and operational performance. They are part of it.

The post was fundamentally about Ferrari:

the strengths and weaknesses of the SF-26, the PU and deployment deficit, tyre preparation, rear thermal behaviour, strategy, intra-team management and the team’s inability to consistently convert pace into results.

The Hamilton and Leclerc sections existed because they are the two people driving the car and because Ferrari’s handling of them is now directly affecting results.

Deleting the entire post because somebody might turn it into a driver argument is basically moderating the potential reaction rather than the actual content.

That is not the same thing.

If there were specific lines you thought crossed the line, fine, delete or warn over those.

But binning the whole post and Darth’s response because it touched a nerve with the possibility of a driver debate feels incredibly heavy-handed.

Especially when half the thread is already full of people making far less balanced claims about both drivers with nowhere near the same level of technical reasoning behind them.

So no, I don’t really accept “prime driver argument bait” as a fair description.

It was a Ferrari performance post that happened to include criticism of both Ferrari drivers.

If that is now off limits, it would probably be useful to clarify exactly what people are actually allowed to discuss here.

[mzso]

There was racing - some cars got squeezed...it was good to see some elbows out. Who cares about team orders and such Just race!

I cannot bear to even ask - but were there no impediments to it - Which driver pairing do you tifosi think would actually get Ferrari into a winning position?

My view - Max - and with a defined no2 would be about the only chance to make it work. He is old enough to have the weight of his opinion taken seriously.
I can't think of any other driver of the right age and performance that would do it

He wouldn't do any better than Leclerc or Hamilton. Just like he can't fight for the championship with his Red Bell, he wouldn't be able to do a miracle with the Ferrari, compounded by its "strategy" department.

[Gillian]

Thank you, very interesting. What could be genuine reasons for Ferrari to keep this package? Maybe I'm reading it wrong but it seems like very easy things to change which could have made a big difference.

It's as Toto Wolff suggested some time ago. The Ferrari concept is built around a higher downforce specification. It doesn't work without the exhaust blowing. The exhaust blowing is what keeps the airflows attached to the steeply inclined surfaces at the back of the car. They can't do what Red Bull did (remove the bracket) without causing issues with the stability of the aero load and the balance. For Red Bull, their integration of exhaust blowing is a cheap copy, so they aren't getting much more aero load from it (and don't lose much aero load without it). However, they could get slightly more power by not having the exhaust blocked up.

So you are saying they could easily gain some power but get an unstable rear in return? It already does not look that stable to me tbh.

[mzso]

Nobody took out anyone, it was a racing incident, typical first lap first corner incident. Drivers have done this countless times in the past, Hamilton did it to his teammates as well, nothing new.

Charles has effectively put his hands up afterwards.

“With Lewis it was a way too close into Turn 1 and unfortunately in Turn 2 – I don't know if we had contact or whatsoever,” he explained.

“I was quite a lot on the inside curve and tried to make the corner, which I didn't do it tight enough, and then I obviously only saw in the mirrors what happened which is never what you want between two cars, between two cars of the same team.”
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/arti ... 6Um6cgcnvS

Yeah, he is saying he made a mistake, it is good if you're taking his word for it, because most people here, including you, sounded like Charles did it on purpose and he wants to beat his teammate at all costs.

When you say Charles took Lewis out, it implies two things:

1. Intention
2. Race ending incident

First is not true in my opinion, and second is not true (fact), so no, Charles didn't take Lewis out, he made a mistake, and in the end, it did not cost anything.

People here are being angry for all the wrong reasons, the only ones that deserve anger/disappointment towards them are the team/technical department.

It wasn't a mistake ans he didn't need to apologize. But he usually does anyway.

[Just_a_fan]

My view - Max - and with a defined no2 would be about the only chance to make it work. He is old enough to have the weight of his opinion taken seriously.
I can't think of any other driver of the right age and performance that would do it

Given a suitable car and a tame no.2, frankly half a dozen drivers could do it - even the two old sods. Max is nothing special in that regard.

Do you think that any of the top 6 drivers, were they solely no1, could really make Ferrari into a winner?

I am sure you're as old as me.. and so it always used to be that it was Scheckter as the last WDC and it was a long 21yr wait for Schumi...and then, it all fell to bits as they had Kimi and Massa vying for no1 and another 20 years...

The same reasons that McLaren have taken so long - is it a misplaced 'fairness'?

Michael didn't make Ferrari in to winners. Todt and Brawn did that by getting rid of the traditional Ferrari approach to things (the type of stuff they do today, frankly) and running really tight strategies. They implemented a number 1 wins at all cost attitude to their drivers. That certainly helps, of course. It's always harder to win both titles if your drivers are taking chunks out of each other.

But they were also aided by unlimited testing at their own facilities, bespoke tyres from Bridgestone - they would test tyres for each race and choose which ones they were going to use. Sometimes they chose wrong and, funnily enough, you can see when by looking at Minardi's performances at the same races. They got what Ferrari didn't want so sometimes they lucked in. Couple that tyre testing with refuelling and the associated short stints and the bespoke tyres were big performance differentiators. Indeed, look what happened when the FIA decided to ban tyre changes except for punctures. Michael suddenly wasn't invincible - a big chunk of Ferrari's performance was taken away. And Alonso benefitted.

Michael couldn't make Mercedes in to winners when he went there after his time away. Funnily enough, people were crediting Hamilton's wins to "the car Schumacher developed" even though there wasn't a nut or bolt in common. But such is the Schumacher myth coupled with hatred of a certain British driver.

The reality is that no driver on the grid could turn the team in to champions, not without huge management changes (that's style of management, not necessarily personnel, although they are linked of course) and a root and branch change in the way the team does things. Not Max, not Lewis, not Lando, etc.. Give them a decent team and the right car and any of them could lead the team to the title. Add in a compliant team mate and it would be easier and help create the myth.

The drivers can make a difference in personal relationships with the guys on the tools and on the prat perch. But that doesn't make a great team, only a reasonably happy one.

[PlatinumZealot]

There was racing - some cars got squeezed...it was good to see some elbows out. Who cares about team orders and such Just race!

I cannot bear to even ask - but were there no impediments to it - Which driver pairing do you tifosi think would actually get Ferrari into a winning position?

My view - Max - and with a defined no2 would be about the only chance to make it work. He is old enough to have the weight of his opinion taken seriously.
I can't think of any other driver of the right age and performance that would do it

This year (and any year really) that no matter how good a driver you are you still need a fast car to win. Refer to Max in 2025 and 2026. Max and Ferrari is not necessarily a good combination. They would drive him insane.