Ferrari ended Friday at the Italian Grand Prix with encouraging signs from the SF-26, as its latest power unit specification appeared to reduce the gap to Mercedes during FP2 at Monza. Charles Leclerc showed particularly strong pace, while Lewis Hamilton continued to work on finding the confidence needed to extract the maximum from the car. However, despite the progress, Ferrari’s hybrid system still appeared less effective than the configurations used by Mercedes and McLaren.
FP1 had already provided a very positive starting point for Ferrari. The Maranello team moved in the right direction with experiments involving the hybrid side of the power unit and tests focused on aerodynamic drag, with the initial feedback appearing encouraging. FP2 therefore offered the opportunity to confirm those impressions and assess how much progress Ferrari had really made with its updated SF-26 power unit package for Monza.
Ferrari sees Mercedes remains the benchmark in Monza FP2
Ferrari resumed its programme from where it had left off in FP1, with both SF-26 cars leaving the Monza pit lane on Pirelli’s yellow-marked Medium tyres. Lewis Hamilton was the first Ferrari driver onto the track, aware that he still needed to find the right feeling with the number 44 car compared with Charles Leclerc. At a circuit known as the Temple of Speed, being able to push the car to its limit is particularly important.
On the first representative attempt, Lewis Hamilton was still more than three tenths slower than Charles Leclerc. The Monegasque immediately appeared comfortable and made the difference from his opening lap. The largest gap between the two Ferrari drivers emerged in the second sector, particularly through the two Lesmo corners.
After their initial laps, both cars returned to the pits for front-wing adjustments. Charles Leclerc received three additional clicks of front-end load, while Lewis Hamilton opted for two.
Ferrari then carried out a practice start at the end of the pit lane before returning to full-speed running. Charles Leclerc’s race engineer Bryan Bozzi advised him on a better line through Turn 6 and instructed him not to use the right-hand steering-wheel toggle at Turn 11, because the car already had sufficient rotation and did not require further correction.
Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, still needed to improve from the second sector onwards, where virtually all of his deficit to Charles Leclerc was being accumulated. After a tyre-cooling lap, both drivers attacked again, although neither SF-26 improved its lap time.
Ferrari’s new engine specification appeared to be delivering more performance in FP2. That followed extensive attention around the ADUO-2 turbo development introduced for Monza, as Ferrari looked for greater efficiency at one of the most power-sensitive circuits on the Formula 1 calendar.
Following another lap aimed primarily at increasing confidence with the car, both Ferrari drivers returned to the garage. Radio communications confirmed that the next run would move directly onto the Soft compound for qualifying-style simulations.
Ferrari SF-26 power delivery still differs from Mercedes
The stop lasted approximately ten minutes, during which Ferrari carefully analysed the telemetry and worked on extracting more performance through improvements to the handling balance. The red-marked Pirelli Soft tyres provided more grip but were naturally slightly more difficult to bring into their ideal operating window and keep there consistently.
Ferrari therefore used a carefully tailored warm-up procedure, which appeared to work particularly well for Charles Leclerc. Although the Monegasque was not completely satisfied with his lap, he nevertheless moved to the top of the timesheets.
The situation was less straightforward for Lewis Hamilton. The seven-time world champion remained behind in the second sector, particularly on the exits of Turns 7 and 9. Race engineer Carlo Santi also highlighted those areas over the radio and encouraged Lewis Hamilton to improve them.
During the subsequent tyre-cooling lap, both drivers were offered the opportunity to make another adjustment to the front-end setup, but Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton both chose to keep the configuration unchanged.
As had already happened on the Medium tyres, neither Ferrari driver improved over the following laps. Instead, the pair focused on refining how they managed the SF-26 through different corners around the Monza circuit.
Ferrari also continued its hybrid-system testing. Although the system remained well mapped in FP2, its effectiveness appeared to be below the solutions used by Mercedes and McLaren. This remained one of the key limitations of the Ferrari package despite the gains delivered by the new specification.
Ferrari’s Monza power unit upgrade reduces the deficit
The power unit was not the only area requiring further work, as Ferrari also had room to improve the car’s setup. The SF-26 once again proved to be a very solid platform, but Ferrari still needed to extract more from it, particularly to help compensate for the hybrid deficit that remained visible at Monza.
Importantly, that disadvantage would have been considerably larger with the previous engine specification. The latest update was therefore providing a meaningful contribution to performance, reinforcing the positive signs already surrounding Ferrari’s engine and aerodynamic developments for the Italian Grand Prix.
For the final part of FP2, Ferrari switched its attention to high-fuel running on Soft tyres. The pit wall set a target lap time of 1m26s, which Charles Leclerc was able to follow almost perfectly for three laps before spinning in the second sector. Fortunately, the incident caused no damage to the SF-26.
Lewis Hamilton initially found it more difficult to match Ferrari’s requested times and was approximately three tenths slower on average. Mercedes driver George Russell, by contrast, was able to hit the target extremely well, while McLaren was approximately two tenths slower on average.
After his spin, Charles Leclerc immediately returned to consistent running. By the fourth lap of his own simulation, Lewis Hamilton was also able to reach the target pace established by Ferrari.
George Russell continued to perform even better in the Mercedes, while Kimi Antonelli was slower and less consistent. A similar difference appeared between the two McLaren drivers: Lando Norris ran at almost the same level as Charles Leclerc, whereas Oscar Piastri was considerably slower during this phase of the session.
Ferrari ends Friday strongly but needs another step to challenge Mercedes
FP2 continued in that pattern until the chequered flag, leaving Ferrari with a very encouraging overall picture after Friday at Monza. The SF-26 appeared genuinely competitive, although its full potential was still being restricted by the performance of the power unit, particularly on the hybrid side.
The positive development was that Ferrari’s deficit to Mercedes appeared smaller than before, especially at a power-sensitive circuit such as Monza. The new specification was clearly helping, even though Mercedes-powered cars still held an advantage in how they delivered and managed energy around the lap.
Ferrari therefore ended Friday in a strong position, with Charles Leclerc demonstrating competitive pace and Lewis Hamilton progressively moving closer to the required performance level. The team also gathered useful information about the latest power unit package, which has become one of the central themes of Ferrari’s 2026 technical development programme.
There is nevertheless an awareness inside Ferrari that another step will be required to challenge the cars powered by the German power unit on equal terms. After a promising opening day at the Italian Grand Prix, the objective will be to find that additional performance on Saturday.
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