Ferrari’s updated ADUO2 Power Unit has delivered a measurable improvement at Monza, although Friday’s telemetry suggests Mercedes remains the benchmark in outright engine performance and electrical deployment. Charles Leclerc ended FP2 just 0.120 seconds behind George Russell, while the detailed data from Ferrari-powered Haas cars offers one of the clearest indications yet that the latest ICE specification has genuinely moved forward.
Mercedes and Ferrari traded places at the top across the opening day of the Italian Grand Prix. George Russell finished the second session 120 milliseconds ahead of Charles Leclerc, with Andrea Kimi Antonelli another 21 milliseconds behind the Ferrari driver. Lewis Hamilton ended FP2 fifth, splitting the two McLarens. Friday therefore confirmed some of the expectations heading into Monza while producing particularly interesting evidence about the technical impact of Ferrari’s updated Power Unit.
Ferrari ADUO2 Power Unit shows a clear improvement at Monza
To assess the actual gain produced by the updated internal-combustion engine developed through Ferrari’s second ADUO opportunity, the two Haas drivers provide a particularly useful comparison. Oliver Bearman’s car was fitted with the updated Power Unit from the beginning of the weekend, while Esteban Ocon continued with the previous specification.
The French driver suffered a straight-line speed deficit on every acceleration zone. Across the first two sections, the difference was no greater than 4 km/h, but it increased considerably in the second half of the lap. Ocon was 12 km/h slower on the run towards Ascari and 14 km/h down on the section leading towards Parabolica. Even on the short part of the main straight, there was a 6 km/h difference.
Across the acceleration zones alone, Ocon lost close to one and a half seconds compared with his teammate. Monza naturally magnifies differences in power and efficiency because of its long full-throttle sections. At the same time, any experiments Haas may have been conducting with Power Unit deployment have to be considered, meaning the comparison remains relative rather than absolute.
Nevertheless, the data provides further evidence that the Ferrari ADUO2 development introduced at Monza has produced a genuine performance gain.
Mercedes Power Unit remains the benchmark despite Ferrari gains
Once the benefit of Ferrari’s new specification is established, comparing it directly with Mercedes puts the scale of the remaining deficit into perspective. As Marc Gené also noted at the end of the session, Ferrari delivers more aggressive deployment than Mercedes only on the acceleration zone towards Parabolica, a trend that had already appeared during FP1.
Comparing the best laps from the two teams — George Russell’s 1:22.558 and Charles Leclerc’s 1:22.679 — indicates that the Mercedes Power Unit remains the reference, as expected.
On the first acceleration zone, the speed difference reaches around 4 km/h before stabilising once the cars enter the derating phase. Approaching the Variante della Roggia, the deficit rises to 7 km/h.
Across those first two acceleration zones alone, Leclerc loses close to three tenths of a second. A similar pattern emerges on the straight between Lesmo 2 and the later part of the lap. Approaching Parabolica, however, Leclerc uses the remaining state of charge to regain some of the lost time, recovering slightly more than 0.15 seconds before the gap increases again on the approach to the finish line.
The overall picture is of a fourth Power Unit that is clearly more powerful than before but still has shortcomings compared with the Mercedes HPP unit. Ferrari’s deployment on Leclerc’s car lasts for less time once maximum speed is reached, with the battery entering its derating phase earlier and occasionally requiring small lifts towards the end of the straights.
Ferrari is using its available energy efficiently
There is nevertheless an important positive in the work completed at Maranello, particularly in terms of energy deployment. The maximum speeds Leclerc recorded across the various sections of his best lap were relatively similar.
That potentially indicates Ferrari was using a comparable quantity of electrical energy across the relevant acceleration zones and exploiting the available power efficiently rather than wasting energy in an attempt to reach unnecessarily high top speeds.
That focus on the complete system rather than peak horsepower alone is central to Ferrari’s current development programme. The Scuderia’s latest SF-26 technical development work is increasingly focused on how engine output, electrical deployment, aerodynamics and chassis performance interact rather than treating the combustion engine in isolation.
Ferrari still has work to do on deployment and SF-26 set-up
Ferrari’s engineers face a significant workload ahead of Saturday, both in terms of refining the SF-26 set-up and extracting the maximum performance from the Power Unit’s deployment map. During FP2, however, the Ferrari once again became the reference car through the medium-speed corners.
Leclerc’s strong speed through Lesmo 2 probably allows him to save energy, an extremely important factor given the long acceleration zone that follows. The Monegasque also gains time on Russell through the first two chicanes, making use of the SF-26’s strong braking performance and its ability to rotate through slower corners.
The chassis advantage is also visible through Parabolica, while Russell remains competitive at Ascari, possibly helped by a slight hesitation from Leclerc on the throttle.
Another increasingly visible feature in the telemetry is the way Leclerc works with the accelerator pedal. That delicate throttle manipulation has been a distinctive characteristic of Charles Leclerc’s driving style since his earliest years in Formula 1.
SF-26 traction provides another encouraging sign
The Ferrari also inspired confidence under traction, particularly on the exits of the first two chicanes. Those areas had already been closely observed during the morning as Ferrari evaluated improvements to the SF-26.
The car is running the latest floor specification introduced at Zandvoort, together with the single-element floor board configuration from Miami. It forms part of the wider package Charles Leclerc has been evaluating alongside Ferrari’s engine and floor developments for Monza.
The race simulations, completed with the track surface approaching 55°C, also produced a solid picture for Ferrari. Andrea Kimi Antonelli completed a 17-lap stint, with Mercedes able to prioritise race running because his single-lap programme was less important. On C3 tyres with six laps of use, Antonelli recorded an average lap time of 1:26.063.
Ferrari instead focused its race simulations on the C5 compound. Despite a significant spin at the Variante della Roggia — caused by bottoming that had been visible throughout the session in the same area — Leclerc completed his 10-lap stint with an average of 1:26.434 on tyres that were five laps old.
Lewis Hamilton was faster on average, recording a 1:26.239 on tyres with six laps of use.
Slipstreaming could have a major impact on qualifying energy use
The effect of the tow is another factor that cannot be ignored, and McLaren’s two drivers also tested running in close proximity during Friday practice.
On a qualifying lap, completing part of the circuit in another car’s slipstream could provide a significant advantage in terms of electrical energy consumption, although another variable is how effectively the Power Unit software can adapt its energy map to the resulting changes in speed and load.
The picture is different in race conditions. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri completed four laps running close together and finished around half a second away from Antonelli’s stint average while using C4 tyres with 11 laps on them.
Overtake Mode is expected to be particularly powerful in the race because drivers will be able to recover 7 MJ rather than the 5 MJ permitted in qualifying.
Russell also completed a strong stint. Running on C3 tyres with eight laps of use, the Mercedes driver produced an average of 1:26.100.
McLaren remains difficult to assess after Friday practice
The two MCL40s remain the biggest missing piece in the competitive picture. As anticipated, Norris recorded the highest approach speed into Lesmo 1, taking advantage of McLaren’s shorter gear ratios, although that characteristic is not ideally suited to a layout such as Monza.
Norris also loses time in the slower sections, reinforcing the weaknesses the McLaren has shown in those areas.
Attention now turns to Saturday, when Ferrari is expected to push its updated Power Unit harder. That will not only provide a clearer indication of the performance available from ADUO2 but will also test the robustness of the new software associated with Ferrari’s fourth Power Unit of the season.
Friday has therefore provided Ferrari with several encouraging signals. The new engine specification appears to have produced a genuine improvement, the SF-26 continues to excel through several of Monza’s braking and medium-speed sections, and the race pace looks solid. Mercedes, however, still retains an advantage in outright Power Unit performance and deployment, leaving Ferrari with important work to complete before qualifying.
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