According to the Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera, the Maranello-based team has circled the Barcelona weekend in red on its calendar as the earliest opportunity for a power unit upgrade.
Ferrari, a power unit in need of improvement
In the first three rounds of the 2026 F1 season, the superiority of the Mercedes power unit over Ferrari’s has become evident, a fact admitted by both the Scuderia’s drivers and team principal Frederic Vasseur. The French manager, however, emphasized that the team will not be able to introduce a new engine just yet: “We certainly have a deficit on the straights, but this is almost frozen until the ADUO arrives.”
The ADUO – the FIA-granted system for upgrades and developments based on the gap from the reference power unit – has caused some confusion among Ferrari drivers. Lewis Hamilton stated he “hopes for a new engine by Miami,” whereas Charles Leclerc dismissed that possibility: “Obviously, we cannot bring anything new in terms of the engine to Miami; we will focus on other areas.”
Waiting on the ADUO
Between Ferrari’s two drivers, Leclerc’s assessment is the accurate one. The ADUO is “unlocked” by the FIA and, by regulation, can only be applied after “GP6.” However, there is a question following the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix: will GP6 refer to the originally scheduled sixth round – Miami – or the sixth race actually held, Monaco? Autosprint has also raised the possibility of an intermediate solution, with the upgrade coming after Canada on May 24. Regardless, there is no chance Ferrari will have a new engine in Miami, much to Lewis Hamilton’s chagrin.
When will Ferrari’s new engine arrive?
The wait for both drivers and fans could be long. According to Corriere della Sera, the “enhanced” engine is expected “in mid-June at Barcelona,” targeting the Spanish Grand Prix on the weekend of June 14-16. This is roughly one-third into the season, after the sixth event of the calendar. Naturally, this timeline remains theoretical, pending decisions on F1’s future during the FIA-team meeting scheduled for April 9 in London.
In the meantime, Maranello will focus on optimizing electric energy management through software and algorithms. The hope is to see improvements as early as the Miami Grand Prix.
