Ferrari SF-26: the Miami chase begins, the championship is not over yet
Formula 1 is finally back in action. We can say it clearly: “It’s Race Week!”. The return to the track coincides with the Miami Grand Prix (see full schedule), an event that carries significant weight, far beyond its original importance due to the volume of technical updates introduced across the paddock.
What was originally expected to be the sixth round of the season will now instead be the fourth, following the suspension—possibly definitive—of both the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and the Bahrain Grand Prix, cancelled due to international tensions.
F1: one month of “inactive activity”
The long break of over a month has reshaped priorities and competitive balance. Formula 1 has not stood still: on the regulatory side, new guidelines regarding power unit usage have been introduced, while on the technical front teams have used every available operational margin to accelerate development.
In this context, Ferrari arrives in Florida with a structured upgrade package. The Monza filming day provided the first dynamic reference of a significantly revised car. Updates include a modified rear wing—the so-called “Macarena” specification—an updated floor, and targeted aerodynamic refinements in the sidepod area.
These solutions carry the signature of the technical structure led by Loic Serra and represent a concrete attempt to recover performance relative to direct rivals.
At the same time, Ferrari’s development work in Maranello has been intense from a methodological standpoint. Wet-weather Pirelli testing has delivered additional data, while simulator and CFD programmes have been expanded to improve correlation between virtual modelling and on-track behaviour.
Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton have completed an extensive development programme, alternating track sessions with simulator work, all aimed at reducing a gap that had become clearly visible earlier in the season.
The main issue remains the power unit. This is where Ferrari continues to lose ground to Mercedes, currently the technical benchmark of the championship. While the team waits for potential gains from regulatory adjustments—including revisions to compression ratio measurement methodologies expected in June—the Scuderia must maximise the potential of its chassis and aerodynamic package.
Ferrari SF-26: Miami–Montreal double header will define the season
Miami therefore becomes a crucial test. The Sprint format, with only one extended Free Practice session of 90 minutes, will reduce preparation time but provide a high-density data environment. The entire weekend will be treated as a competitive laboratory: validating the effectiveness of the new package and confirming correlation between simulations and real-world SF-26 behaviour.
Mercedes is not the only target. McLaren’s strong performance at the Japanese Grand Prix has also raised concerns in the fight for second place in the performance hierarchy. Woking, as explained by Rob Marshall, is preparing further updates for the American round.
To complicate matters further, as previously anticipated, new starting procedures could neutralise one of Ferrari’s key strengths so far this season. This increases the urgency to find performance gains elsewhere, while waiting for additional progress on the power unit side. This includes the activation of the ADUO system.
The North American double header—Miami and Canada—therefore becomes a true turning point. The gap to the front is not yet decisive, but it demands an immediate response. If the SF-26 shows improvement in Florida, the championship could reopen in meaningful terms. If not, the season risk becoming locked into a predefined hierarchy too early.
Ferrari arrives in Miami with a clear objective: transform a promising technical package into real on-track performance. Only the track will reveal whether this marks a genuine turning point or yet another step in a season-long chase.
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