Ferrari’s Austin telemetry analysis reveals encouraging improvements from the SF-26’s latest aerodynamic upgrades, with Charles Leclerc showing impressive cornering performance during second practice for the 2026 United States Grand Prix. However, the Italian team appears to be paying a considerable price on the straights, losing approximately half a second across the full-throttle sections of the lap. Despite Ferrari’s progress, Max Verstappen and Red Bull remain the apparent favourites thanks to a more effective overall compromise between cornering performance, straight-line speed and tyre management.
The Circuit of the Americas continues to provide a demanding technical examination for Formula 1 teams. Its combination of fast changes of direction, slow corners and long straights makes it particularly effective at exposing the strengths and weaknesses of different aerodynamic configurations. Friday’s FP2 data offered valuable indications about Ferrari’s new package, Mercedes’ apparent progress and McLaren’s continuing sensitivity to tyre compounds, although the definitive competitive order remains uncertain ahead of qualifying.
Ferrari Austin telemetry shows impressive gains through the corners
The most encouraging development for Ferrari is the positive response of the SF-26 to the aerodynamic upgrades introduced for Austin. The car appears to be generating more downforce, potentially exceeding the levels seen on rival machinery, while displaying excellent balance across almost the entire lap in the hands of Charles Leclerc.
The Monegasque is particularly effective through medium-speed and high-speed corners. In the famous sequence of rapid direction changes known as the Esses, or Snake, in the opening sector, Charles Leclerc is able to produce a performance broadly comparable to that of Kimi Antonelli.
However, it is in the slower corners of the third sector that Ferrari appears to establish its most significant advantage over the opposition. Braking performance is particularly convincing, suggesting that the front end is working extremely well and allowing Charles Leclerc to attack corner entry with confidence.
The strong final-sector performance also indicates that Ferrari’s improvement is not simply a matter of front-end grip. The overall balance of the SF-26 appears to be working effectively, helping maintain tyre temperatures within an appropriate operating window and allowing the driver to exploit the available grip throughout the final part of the lap.
Another interesting detail concerns a change in Charles Leclerc’s driving technique through the sequence of three right-hand corners in the final sector. The Ferrari driver adopted a line more similar to those used by Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, modifying his approach to Turn 18 to open up the entry into Turn 19.
This differed from the more rounded trajectory seen during the opening practice session, which the two Mercedes drivers continued to favour. The adjustment illustrates how Charles Leclerc was refining his approach to the circuit alongside Ferrari’s ongoing evaluation of the updated aerodynamic package.
The positive cornering characteristics are consistent with the encouraging indications already observed in Ferrari’s initial Austin aerodynamic analysis, although the gains must be considered alongside the car’s continuing limitations on the straights.
Ferrari loses approximately half a second on Austin straights
The most significant concern emerging from the Ferrari Austin telemetry is the SF-26’s straight-line performance. Across the sections of the circuit involving full acceleration, Ferrari loses approximately half a second overall, a substantial deficit that contrasts sharply with the competitiveness demonstrated through the corners.
The telemetry also shows energy harvesting taking place at several points around the lap as Ferrari attempts to recover as much electrical energy as possible. This pattern points towards considerable pressure on the car’s available energy reserves and raises questions about the efficiency of its deployment strategy.
There is, however, an important qualification when interpreting the data. Ferrari may still be using an ADUO1-specification power unit during Friday practice, rotating it through the free practice sessions before fitting its latest available power unit for FP3 and qualifying.
If that is the case, the straight-line deficit observed on Friday might not fully represent Ferrari’s ultimate qualifying potential. The possible power-unit change therefore remains an important factor to consider when assessing the team’s competitiveness.
Nevertheless, the telemetry suggests that the problem is unlikely to be explained by energy management alone. An aerodynamic contribution also appears possible, with the SF-26 potentially suffering from increased drag as a consequence of its higher-downforce configuration.
Part of this additional resistance could even reflect a deliberate setup choice, with Ferrari prioritising cornering performance at the expense of outright straight-line speed. The data from FP3 and, more importantly, qualifying should provide a clearer indication of whether the compromise is effective.
For additional context, the recorded differences between Formula 1 cars can be examined through the F1 Top Speed Comparison, although speed-trap figures alone cannot distinguish the effects of aerodynamic drag, power-unit deployment and other variables.
Lewis Hamilton presents a different challenge for Ferrari. The seven-time world champion only received the aerodynamic upgrades for the second practice session and does not yet appear to have developed the same confidence in the SF-26 as Charles Leclerc. His performance suggests that considerable setup optimisation remains possible on his side of the garage.
Red Bull and Max Verstappen appear to have the best overall compromise
Despite Ferrari’s impressive cornering characteristics, Max Verstappen and Red Bull remain the favourites for the remainder of the United States Grand Prix weekend.
As has been observed at other races during the closing stages of the season, the Red Bull is not necessarily the strongest car in every individual category of corner. Instead, its main advantage comes from being competitive almost everywhere without displaying any particularly obvious weakness.
That versatility becomes extremely valuable at a circuit such as Austin, where teams must balance the demands of high-speed corners, slow technical sections and long acceleration zones. Red Bull appears particularly effective across the complete lap, while Max Verstappen adds another layer of performance through his ability to interpret slower corners and manage tyre behaviour.
The situation is somewhat less straightforward for Isack Hadjar. Although his pace is not especially poor, the driver has reported that the car has become more difficult to balance. This suggests that the pursuit of stronger overall performance may have made the Red Bull more demanding to drive, without necessarily compromising its potential in the hands of the four-time world champion.
The strength of Red Bull’s overall aerodynamic and mechanical compromise is therefore an important reason why Max Verstappen remains the reference point despite Ferrari’s encouraging Friday performance.
Mercedes improves aerodynamic efficiency but still struggles with front-end consistency
Mercedes also showed significant signs of improvement during FP2 compared with some of its recent appearances.
Aerodynamic drag, which had represented a major limitation at previous events, appears to be less problematic, while performance through medium-speed and high-speed corners has improved considerably.
The Brackley team seems to have found a configuration that allows the front end to operate more effectively. However, maintaining that behaviour within the ideal operating window throughout an entire lap remains a significant challenge.
Kimi Antonelli’s performance provides a particularly revealing example. The Italian had built an advantage of more than two tenths over Charles Leclerc before the final sector, only to lose practically the entire margin towards the end of the lap.
The biggest losses occurred through the final two fast corners, where the Mercedes appeared almost unable to turn into the bends effectively.
The underlying concern remains front-end consistency. Depending on when the problem emerges, the Mercedes can struggle either with turn-in through faster corners or with rotation in slower sections.
Energy management is another important consideration. Mercedes appears to concentrate a substantial proportion of its energy deployment along the long back straight, contributing significantly to its overall lap-time performance.
The team’s Austin weekend therefore continues to resemble an ongoing search for the ideal compromise between aerodynamic efficiency, front-end response and energy deployment.
The potential appears considerable, possibly sufficient to challenge for victory. However, the car’s sensitivity to operating conditions also creates the possibility of Mercedes finding itself substantially further down the order.
For now, the most realistic assessment places Mercedes in a battle with Ferrari to become the closest challenger to Max Verstappen and Red Bull.
McLaren shows strong hard-tyre pace but struggles on softs
McLaren’s Friday performance revealed a recurring pattern. The car continues to demonstrate impressive pace on harder tyre compounds but struggles to achieve a satisfactory balance when fitted with soft tyres.
This is a particularly important concern given the prominence of softer compounds during recent races.
Lando Norris produced the most convincing long run of the session on hard tyres, demonstrating the underlying potential of the McLaren over a sustained stint. However, the hard compound already appears to have been largely discounted by rival teams as a likely race option, complicating the interpretation of that performance advantage.
On single-lap runs, McLaren continues to experience balance problems, particularly in the relationship between front-end and rear-end behaviour. When the team adjusts front ride height in search of improved performance, the rear of the car tends to become excessively unstable. This makes it difficult to exploit the full potential of the soft compound and compromises the car’s qualifying performance.
The situation is further complicated by Oscar Piastri’s inability to match Lando Norris’s pace, even under conditions that appear better suited to the McLaren. As a result, McLaren enters the competitive part of the weekend from a position of relative weakness. Nevertheless, Lando Norris’s impressive long-run performance suggests that the team should not be discounted entirely when assessing potential race contenders.
Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes closely matched on race pace
The race simulations provided another particularly interesting element of the Austin telemetry analysis. Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen and Kimi Antonelli demonstrated extremely similar pace, with the differences between them generally measured in tenths of a second.
However, the evolution of their lap times during each stint revealed potentially more important distinctions than the initial pace figures.
Charles Leclerc began his race simulation at a very strong pace, immediately demonstrating the performance available from the Ferrari SF-26. As the stint progressed, however, the soft tyres showed relatively significant degradation. Max Verstappen adopted almost the opposite approach. Rather than pushing particularly hard at the beginning, the Red Bull driver built up his pace more gradually, allowing him to maintain greater consistency across the run.
This difference could become crucial during the United States Grand Prix because thermal management of the tyres is especially important at the Circuit of the Americas. Traffic also produced particularly noticeable penalties, suggesting that tyre temperatures were already operating close to their limits. Even spending a few laps behind another car could therefore have a significant influence on performance and tyre degradation.
Ferrari’s strong initial race pace must consequently be weighed against the tyre-management advantage that Max Verstappen appeared to demonstrate during the longer runs.
With Mercedes also showing competitive underlying pace and McLaren retaining potential over longer distances, the race-performance picture remains far from settled.
Qualifying will reveal whether Ferrari’s Austin upgrades have changed the competitive order
Ferrari’s opening-day performance offers genuine encouragement. The updated SF-26 appears to have gained downforce, Charles Leclerc is particularly effective through the corners, and the car’s overall balance represents a clear positive indication.
However, the substantial losses on the straights remain a major question mark. It is not yet clear how much of the deficit is linked to energy deployment, the power-unit specification potentially used during practice or the aerodynamic compromise chosen by Ferrari. Red Bull still appears to possess the most complete package, while Mercedes has improved significantly and McLaren’s longer-run pace cannot be ignored.
The final practice session and qualifying will therefore be decisive in establishing how much of Friday’s performance differences resulted from the configurations used by each team and how much reflects the genuine potential of the four cars.
For Ferrari, the challenge is to preserve the strong cornering performance of the SF-26 while limiting its straight-line losses. Whether that balance is sufficient to challenge Max Verstappen for pole position, and ultimately remain competitive throughout Sunday’s race, remains the central question emerging from the Austin telemetry.
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