Has Ferrari once again chosen to keep its true performance under wraps during FP2 at the Austrian Grand Prix? The Scuderia completed Friday’s second practice session with Lewis Hamilton in fifth place, 0.597 seconds behind session leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli, while Charles Leclerc finished eighth, 0.841 seconds off the pace. Here is a closer look at Ferrari’s work during the session and what the results may actually reveal.
The opening practice session had already featured an extensive testing programme for Ferrari. Dino Beganovic, who replaced Charles Leclerc to satisfy the FIA’s rookie driver requirements, tested the SF-26 without the FTM exhaust wing, a component that will no longer be permitted from 2027 onwards. Lewis Hamilton also carried out several comparison tests with different aerodynamic components as Ferrari continued preparing for the upcoming races.
Throughout FP1, Ferrari appeared to conceal its outright pace by running a conservative engine mode and carrying a relatively heavy fuel load. The question heading into FP2 was whether the Scuderia would finally reveal its true performance level.
Ferrari continues its new Friday approach
Both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton began the second practice session on fresh sets of medium tyres. After only a few laps, Lewis Hamilton returned to the pits to reduce the front wing angle by two clicks. A few laps later, Charles Leclerc made exactly the same adjustment to his own SF-26.
At the end of the opening stint, Charles Leclerc occupied fifth place, almost seven tenths behind Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s benchmark, while Lewis Hamilton was seventh, roughly one second off the Italian driver’s pace. Overall, Ferrari once again appeared to follow a conservative Friday programme, suggesting that the team may still have been keeping some performance in reserve compared to its direct rivals.
With around 30 minutes remaining, Lewis Hamilton became the first Ferrari driver to switch to the soft C5 tyres. Charles Leclerc followed a few minutes later on the same compound. After his first qualifying simulation, Lewis Hamilton moved up to fourth place, four tenths behind Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s fastest lap. Charles Leclerc initially finished sixth, approximately six tenths adrift.
Both Ferrari drivers then completed additional push laps—Charles Leclerc even attempted a third flying lap—but neither managed to improve their lap times. With just under 15 minutes remaining, Lewis Hamilton began his race simulation using the same set of soft tyres from his qualifying run, with Charles Leclerc following the same programme shortly afterwards.
Even during the long runs, Ferrari did not appear to reveal its full potential. As was the case for several teams, race simulations were interrupted and fragmented, making direct comparisons difficult. At the end of the session, however, Lewis Hamilton was heard expressing dissatisfaction with his long-run performance, suggesting he was still unhappy with the balance and overall behaviour of the SF-26.
Based on Friday’s running, Ferrari once again appeared to adopt the same cautious approach first seen at the Spanish Grand Prix, making it difficult to judge the car’s true competitiveness. Saturday’s running should provide a much clearer picture of whether the Scuderia’s apparent lack of pace is genuine or simply the result of another deliberately conservative programme.
For now, Mercedes remains the benchmark at the Red Bull Ring, with Andrea Kimi Antonelli looking particularly impressive over both a single qualifying lap and race pace simulations. McLaren also appears firmly in contention, while Red Bull remains something of an unknown heading into the remainder of the weekend.
The competitive picture is therefore still far from complete, with several important questions yet to be answered. Attention now turns to the third and final practice session, scheduled to begin at 12:30 local time on Saturday.
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