Ferrari will bring its eagerly awaited ADUO 2 engine specification to Monza as the Scuderia attempts to strengthen one of the SF-26’s most vulnerable areas at the most important race of its season. The revised Power Unit has been linked with an increase of around 15 horsepower, but its significance for Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton extends beyond outright peak output.
The 2026 Italian Grand Prix places Ferrari under a level of scrutiny unlike almost any other weekend. Monza’s grandstands will again be dominated by the Tifosi, yet the technical challenge facing the Maranello team is equally demanding. Long periods at full throttle, severe braking zones and traction-sensitive corner exits combine to expose precisely the areas in which the SF-26 has not always been at its strongest.
Why Ferrari’s ADUO 2 engine upgrade matters at Monza
Monza provides an immediate and particularly severe examination of Ferrari’s latest Power Unit development. The circuit’s long straights reward sustained energy deployment and strong top-end performance, making the weekend an important test of the work carried out within the SF-26 Power Unit package.
One of the defining characteristics of Ferrari’s original concept has been its relatively compact turbocharger. The SF-26 is understood to use a turbo roughly 10 mm smaller in diameter than the solutions employed by rivals such as Mercedes and Red Bull. That architecture offers advantages, particularly because a smaller turbo can spool more rapidly and provide sharper throttle response when the driver accelerates.
The compromise becomes more apparent during extended periods of acceleration. The system can consume its available electrical energy more quickly, leaving less deployment towards the end of a long straight. The resulting phenomenon, commonly described as super clipping, can cost straight-line performance before the car reaches the next braking zone.
A larger turbo can provide more sustained power through this phase of the lap, even though it recovers energy more slowly. Maintaining electrical deployment for longer is valuable not only over a qualifying lap but also in race conditions, where extra energy can make the difference when a driver is attacking another car or attempting to defend position.
Ferrari targets more consistent power delivery rather than only peak horsepower
The ADUO 2 development is intended to improve that balance. Recent reports have suggested that the new specification could deliver approximately 15 additional horsepower, while AutoRacer.it has estimated a lap-time improvement of around two tenths of a second. Those gains have been associated with changes to the combustion chamber, a new Shell fuel formulation and developments within the turbocharger.
Motorsport.com has reported that Ferrari has redesigned elements of the turbo while retaining the same overall diameter, changing the number of turbine blades rather than simply making the component larger. The technical direction therefore centres on extracting more efficiency from the existing architecture, an approach explored further in the ADUO 2 turbo development.
The more important step could be the way the Power Unit manages torque and hybrid deployment. The revised configuration is designed to produce more consistent delivery, allowing the SF-26 to maintain performance further along Monza’s straights without exhausting its battery energy prematurely. If the improvement works as intended, Ferrari should be better equipped to exploit the Power Unit throughout an entire lap rather than relying only on a higher headline output figure.
SF-26 strengths are balanced by a difficult high-speed weakness
The engine update arrives on a car that already possesses several clear strengths. Ferrari has built the SF-26 around a highly competitive aerodynamic platform, with a chassis that has performed particularly well at circuits where aerodynamic load is important. Mercedes also has a strong chassis, although the Ferrari has appeared capable of holding a slight advantage in this area.
The SF-26 has also emerged as one of the more complete cars of the season in several types of corner. It is strong under braking, responds accurately at the front axle and can carry competitive speed through the middle of a corner.
Its difficulties have appeared more frequently at extremely fast venues and on rear-limited layouts. These circuits often combine hard braking with slow corners followed by demanding acceleration phases, placing additional stress on the rear tyres. When the rear begins to slide, oversteer increases degradation and compromises traction, leaving the driver unable to deploy the car’s performance as effectively on corner exit.
China, Belgium, Monza, Baku and Las Vegas represent the type of high-speed environment in which this characteristic becomes particularly important. Ferrari’s challenge is therefore not limited to its Power Unit: the team must also control rear-axle behaviour while pursuing the low-drag configuration demanded by Monza.
Monza forces Ferrari into a difficult downforce and tyre-management compromise
Few circuits make the relationship between aerodynamic efficiency and mechanical grip as obvious as Monza. Ferrari needs to remove enough drag to maximise speed on the straights, which is why the Scuderia has also prepared specific SF-26 changes aimed at reducing drag and improving efficiency.
Reducing downforce, however, can make the car less stable through the faster sections of the lap. The two Lesmo corners and the Ascari chicane demand confidence from the rear of the car, while the first chicane and Variante della Roggia place a premium on braking stability and traction.
Exiting those slower sections without excessive rear-wheel slip will be essential. Any loss of rear grip not only costs acceleration onto the following straight but can also increase tyre wear over a race stint. Ferrari must therefore find a setup that allows the new Power Unit to exploit its stronger deployment without creating a separate limitation through the chassis.
Charles Leclerc has already assessed Ferrari’s latest engine and aerodynamic work ahead of the home weekend, with the broader Italian Grand Prix upgrade package forming an important part of the team’s attempt to maximise the SF-26 at Monza.
Ferrari’s 2026 results show why Monza remains difficult to predict
The season has repeatedly demonstrated that the SF-26 does not always perform according to its expected circuit profile. Belgium provided one of the clearest examples. Despite entering a weekend at a venue where energy deployment should have been a concern, Ferrari qualified fifth and sixth before turning that starting position into second and fourth in the race.
There have been similarities with the behaviour of Ferrari’s 2024 car, which could struggle to extract the final margin of performance over one qualifying lap before appearing more competitive across a race distance. Part of the current limitation has been attributed to an internal-combustion-engine deficit compared with Ferrari’s main rivals.
At the same time, there have been weekends at circuits theoretically expected to favour the SF-26 where the team has failed to achieve the anticipated result. That inconsistency illustrates both the car’s unpredictability and the performance that Ferrari still believes can be extracted from the package. Further developments throughout the season can be followed through the site’s Ferrari technical analysis coverage.
Frédéric Vasseur plays down Ferrari’s chances of starting as Monza favourite
Despite the arrival of ADUO 2, Ferrari is not approaching its home race as the obvious favourite for victory. Frédéric Vasseur acknowledged in a recent interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport that he did not expect Ferrari to close the existing gap to Mercedes completely at Monza. The team principal nevertheless emphasised that the new engine represented a step forward for the Scuderia.
Mercedes and Red Bull therefore remain formidable opposition on a circuit dominated by high-speed efficiency and Power Unit performance. The scale of Ferrari’s progress will depend not simply on the estimated horsepower gain but on whether the car can deliver its energy consistently while preserving enough rear stability through Monza’s braking and traction zones.
There is still reason for Ferrari to believe the weekend could develop in its favour. Silverstone already provided an example this season, with the SF-26 entering a race without being regarded as the leading package before Charles Leclerc took victory by capitalising on the way the Grand Prix unfolded.
Monza could demand something similar. If Ferrari finds the right setup window, manages the rear tyres and extracts the intended benefits from ADUO 2, Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton should have a stronger platform from which to challenge. The upgrade does not make the Prancing Horse the automatic favourite, but at Ferrari’s home Grand Prix it gives the team an important opportunity to reduce one of its biggest high-speed limitations at the circuit where doing so matters most.
Leave a Reply