Racing
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Ferrari left Miami with its clearest warning yet that the SF-26’s main problem in 2026 is under the engine cover, not in the chassis, after bringing a grid-high 11 upgrades and still missing the grand prix podium for the first time this season.
That mattered because Miami was supposed to show whether Ferrari’s development push could close the gap at the front. Instead, the weekend reinforced a different diagnosis. One report described the SF-26 as “an excellent car,” but said a deficit to the Mercedes and Red Bull power units is what is condemning Ferrari. Another called the Ferrari engine the team’s weak point “as proven by the data,” a problem Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton have both highlighted repeatedly.
The evidence in Florida matched that view. Miami’s layout rewarded horsepower and electric deployment, and Mercedes-powered cars dominated the order. Ferrari still showed flashes of race speed, with Leclerc jumping into the lead at the start and staying there for about 15 laps, but it could not sustain that fight once the race settled. The loss was most visible on the straights, where Ferrari’s deficit to McLaren was described as being largely in straight-line performance.
Leclerc’s own approach underlined the limitation. Rather than relying on later braking to defend, he was trying to brake earlier and recharge the battery to gain more electric thrust on the following straight. “It’s the only way I have to stay close,” he said on team radio. That is a tactic for survival, not one for controlling a race.
Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur said after Sunday that it was the first time in 2026 the team failed to place a car in the top three in either a Sprint or a Grand Prix. He said Ferrari had speed in clean air but lost consistency once it dropped into traffic. He also pointed to “a big performance delta” between the phase when Leclerc was leading and the later part of the race, adding that the upgrades had worked as expected and that the team knew where it needed to improve.
That is the key distinction for Ferrari now. The update package was not presented as a failure. The concern is that the bodywork and chassis changes cannot solve the deeper weakness if the power unit remains behind Mercedes and Red Bull in output and energy management.
That is why the focus has shifted to the FIA’s Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities system. ADUO gives power-unit manufacturers development opportunities if they are behind the benchmark engine by defined thresholds. Manufacturers trailing by between two and four per cent get one opportunity, while those four per cent or more down get two. Internal combustion engine performance is reviewed after the sixth, 12th and 18th rounds.
Ferrari’s problem is that relief is not only technical but political. One report said there is real concern inside Maranello that the FIA may not grant Ferrari the maximum advantages available under ADUO. The same report said Montreal could actually help Ferrari’s case because the Canadian Grand Prix’s stop-and-go layout includes at least four significant straights, which may expose the scale of the shortfall even more clearly.
That also makes Canada look like another difficult weekend on pure performance. If Miami highlighted the weakness, Montreal threatens to repeat it on a circuit that places similar stress on acceleration and deployment.
There is no sign of a quick fix. AutoRacer.it expects Ferrari’s new engine to arrive no earlier than the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa, which would leave the current deficit in place through Canada, Monaco, Spain, Austria and Great Britain. Whatever the FIA decides on ADUO after the next review, Ferrari’s immediate fight is to limit the damage until a power-unit step arrives.