Racing
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Ferrari will introduce its first power-unit upgrade of the 2026 Formula 1 season at the Austrian Grand Prix, using the FIA’s ADUO development allowance at the same weekend Dino Beganovic takes over Charles Leclerc’s car for first practice.
The Spielberg package marks Ferrari’s first use of the Additional Development Upgrade Opportunities system this year and centres on an updated internal combustion engine. It is the opening move in a wider effort to cut what Ferrari sees as an output deficit to Mercedes and Red Bull Ford under the new 2026 rules.
Ferrari has made clear it is not expecting an instant turnaround from the new parts. The team is presenting the Austria package as a relatively small update and the first track introduction of gains made in recent weeks, rather than a single step that will immediately change the competitive order.
Ferrari power-unit technical chief Enrico Gualtieri said the team at the factory is working intensively along its planned roadmap to make the most of the extra opportunities offered by ADUO. He described the Spielberg update as “relatively small” and said it reflects “continuous improvement, quick response, and introducing the results achieved as early as possible.”
Alongside the engine update, Ferrari confirmed that Beganovic will drive Leclerc’s SF-26 in FP1 at the Red Bull Ring. Beganovic also appeared in first practice in Barcelona, when he stood in for Lewis Hamilton, and the Austrian outing counts toward Ferrari’s required rookie-driver sessions for the season. Under the rules, teams must field a rookie driver on four occasions across the year, with two appearances in each car, leaving both Leclerc and Hamilton due to miss one more FP1 session over the remaining 14 rounds of 2026.
That makes Austria a weekend with two different jobs for Ferrari: meeting a regulatory requirement in one garage while beginning a longer-term power-unit recovery plan across the team. Ferrari does not expect this first ADUO-enabled step on its own to deliver a major swing in performance, but it views the package as an important base for further development through the second half of the season.