Ferrari faces a worrying race pace deficit of approximately half a second per lap at the 2026 Brazilian Grand Prix, with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton struggling to extract performance from the SF-26 at Interlagos. Just days after showing the potential to fight for victory in Mexico, the Maranello team has encountered significant problems with car balance, braking and tyre management. Friday’s long-run simulations suggest that Ferrari is currently some distance behind its leading Formula 1 rivals, although the possibility of rain in qualifying and Sunday’s race could change the competitive picture.
A week earlier, at the Mexican Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc had a Ferrari capable of challenging for victory, only for their battle through the opening corners to compromise that opportunity. Five days later, the situation at Interlagos appears radically different. If the indications from Friday’s practice sessions are confirmed, the two Ferrari drivers are unlikely to be in contention for victory under normal conditions.
Friday’s running in Brazil revealed an SF-26 far removed from the competitiveness it had demonstrated in recent races. The Italian team struggled with balance, braking performance and tyre management, with those problems affecting both qualifying simulations and longer runs. More concerningly, the car did not appear to have a particular area of strength on which Ferrari could build a recovery.
Ferrari loses around half a second per lap in Brazilian GP race pace simulations
The most worrying figures emerged from the race simulations. Running on soft tyres, Charles Leclerc recorded an average pace approximately half a second per lap slower than Andrea Kimi Antonelli. A similar deficit was observed when Lewis Hamilton’s medium-tyre run was compared with Max Verstappen’s performance on the same compound.
Although the comparisons involved different drivers and tyre compounds, they pointed towards the same conclusion: Ferrari was significantly behind the strongest benchmarks during Friday’s long runs. The size of the deficit is particularly concerning because the SF-26 had demonstrated much stronger performance during the preceding races.
The two comparisons also provide an important distinction between outright qualifying speed and performance over a longer stint. Ferrari’s problems were not confined to extracting a single competitive lap. The team was also struggling to maintain the pace required to challenge its rivals over race distance. The relevant session and stint comparisons can be explored through the F1 Practice and Long-Run Analysis.
Charles Leclerc describes one of his worst Friday experiences of the season
Charles Leclerc’s assessment following FP2 underlined the severity of Ferrari’s difficulties. The Monegasque made no attempt to disguise his frustration with the behaviour of the SF-26.
“It was a very, very difficult Friday. The feeling behind the wheel was really bad and we have quite a lot of work to do. Probably more than on other weekends, we’ll have to make significant changes to the car for tomorrow. Its behaviour was rather strange,” Charles Leclerc explained.
Having missed FP1, when Dino Beganovic took his place, Charles Leclerc completed the second free practice session in seventh position with a time of 1:11.483. His Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton was slightly faster, finishing sixth with a 1:11.213.
However, the single-lap results were not the main concern. What troubled Charles Leclerc most was the general handling of the car, particularly in the corners, where Ferrari had previously enjoyed a competitive advantage.
“We were definitely losing time on the straights, but in the corners the car probably gave me one of the worst feelings I’ve had on a Friday this season. Normally we’re very quick through the twisty sections, but today that wasn’t the case. I think there’s much more time to recover in the corners than on the straights.”
That assessment was especially significant because Ferrari’s performance through slower corners had been one of its main strengths in recent races. At Interlagos, however, that advantage appeared to have disappeared, leaving the team searching for performance in an area where it would normally expect to be competitive.
Fred Vasseur identifies Ferrari balance problems as the main priority
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur confirmed the difficulties reported by his drivers, identifying car balance as the main priority for the overnight setup work.
“The drivers are not happy. Charles did not take part in FP1, we had a couple of problems and there’s a lot of work to do to prepare for Saturday. The balance wasn’t good and the track surface has practically opposite characteristics to what we encountered a week ago in Mexico,” the French manager explained.
Charles Leclerc also encountered problems with the energy management of his power unit, costing him a couple of tenths on the straights during his fastest lap. Fred Vasseur considered that issue solvable and, in any case, less significant than the car’s overall setup difficulties.
Lewis Hamilton likewise struggled to find the correct operating window for his tyres and complained about the unpredictable behaviour of the SF-26. The problem was made worse by the characteristics of the Brazilian circuit’s asphalt, which was particularly bumpy and slippery.
Those conditions made finding a suitable balance more complicated, particularly with Ferrari already struggling to achieve the grip and consistency required for competitive qualifying and race performances.
Another concern involved Lewis Hamilton’s power unit. The problem that emerged during FP2 in Mexico meant Ferrari had been unable to recover the unit used in that session. Consequently, there was a strong possibility that the seven-time world champion would run with a new engine on Saturday, accompanied by the corresponding grid penalty. The situation followed the earlier concerns over Lewis Hamilton’s power unit and possible grid penalty after Mexico.
Can rain help Ferrari recover at Interlagos?
Charles Leclerc anticipated significant changes to the configuration of his SF-26 in the hope of bringing the car back into a more favourable operating window.
“I have several ideas about what to change and I think we’ll make significant modifications. I don’t know yet whether they’ll be enough, but there’s no reason why we should struggle so much at a circuit like this. We have to find a solution,” the Ferrari driver explained.
Despite the disappointing practice sessions, Fred Vasseur was unwilling to consider Ferrari’s Brazilian Grand Prix weekend compromised.
“I’m no less optimistic than I was last week,” the Ferrari team principal insisted, also pointing to the uncertainty surrounding the weather forecast.
Indeed, the weather could prove to be Ferrari’s most important potential ally. Rain was forecast for qualifying and, particularly, Sunday’s race, when a sharp drop in temperatures was also expected. Such conditions could alter the competitive order established during Friday’s dry-weather practice sessions.
Variable weather would also make the gaps recorded in the race simulations less representative of what might happen over Grand Prix distance. However, there was no guarantee that a wet circuit would favour the SF-26, especially given the difficulties Ferrari had experienced with balance and grip. The changing conditions remained an important factor in the 2026 Brazilian Grand Prix weekend.
For Ferrari, the priority was to improve the car’s handling and tyre management before qualifying. On the evidence of Friday’s running, the team faced a considerable deficit in dry conditions, particularly over longer stints. An unsettled weather forecast offered an opportunity for the competitive picture to change, but the Maranello team still needed to find a solution to the SF-26’s underlying problems.
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