Ferrari’s second Formula 1 engine upgrade of 2026 appears to have delivered far less than the performance increase initially targeted for Monza, with new figures indicating that the Scuderia remains around 20 horsepower behind Mercedes despite using both of its available ADUO development opportunities.
The Italian team arrived at its home Grand Prix with considerable expectations surrounding the latest Power Unit specification. Ferrari had previously been estimated to trail Mercedes by approximately 25 hp and was reportedly targeting a 15 hp improvement from its Monza development alone. Instead, the latest numbers suggest that the overall deficit has only fallen by roughly 5 hp across Ferrari’s two upgrades this season.
Ferrari ADUO 2 upgrade leaves 20 hp Mercedes deficit
Under Formula 1’s ADUO framework, Ferrari gained access to two development opportunities after its internal combustion engine was assessed as being at least four per cent below the benchmark. Red Bull, by contrast, has not qualified for additional development under the system, while Mercedes has not used the single opportunity available to it.
Ferrari introduced its first update at the Austrian Grand Prix, but the gains from Spielberg proved disappointing. Greater optimism consequently surrounded the second package prepared for Monza, where the Scuderia had been working on changes aimed at extracting more performance from the SF-26 Power Unit. The technical direction behind the project included the ADUO 2 turbo and compressor-blade development.
Expectations had increased significantly during the summer. At the beginning of June, before either of Ferrari’s upgrades had been introduced, the deficit to Mercedes was estimated at approximately 25 hp. Mercedes was regarded as having the strongest overall Power Unit package once the contribution from the electrical side was included.
Ferrari had targeted a 15 hp gain for Monza
After the limited impact of the Austrian update, reports in July indicated that Ferrari expected its second development step to deliver around 15 hp at Monza. That figure was estimated to represent approximately two tenths of a second per lap.
Such an improvement would not necessarily have brought Ferrari’s Power Unit level with Mercedes, but it had the potential to alter the competitive picture considerably. Combined with what was considered an aerodynamic advantage for the SF-26, the additional power could have helped compensate for the remaining engine deficit. Ferrari’s preparations therefore placed considerable emphasis on a package that was designed to offer benefits extending beyond a simple headline horsepower figure, as explored in the technical analysis of the SF-26 Monza Power Unit.
The figures reported after the Italian Grand Prix, however, point to a much smaller step. The Italian edition of Motorsport.com reported on Monday that Ferrari remains approximately 20 hp behind Mercedes. If the earlier 25 hp estimate and the latest figure are compared directly, Ferrari has recovered only around 5 hp despite introducing two upgrades.
That outcome would place the realised improvement well below the internal projection associated with Monza. Ferrari had previously been linked with a planned 15 hp boost for the Italian Grand Prix, making the reported post-race deficit particularly significant.
Lewis Hamilton’s Monza race highlighted Ferrari’s power weakness
The problem was also visible during the Grand Prix itself. Lewis Hamilton finished sixth and found himself overtaken by three Mercedes-powered cars: race winner Andrea Kimi Antonelli and the two McLarens.
During his on-track battles, Hamilton repeatedly reported a lack of power, adding another indication that straight-line performance remained a limiting factor even after Ferrari introduced its latest engine specification. The Monza weekend therefore failed to provide the breakthrough the Scuderia had hoped for in one of the areas that has restricted the SF-26 during the 2026 season.
Recent technical analysis has similarly focused on the relationship between Ferrari’s Power Unit performance and its speed on Monza’s straights, with the team’s ADUO 2 data from qualifying offering another reference point for assessing the scale of the improvement.
Why Ferrari’s remaining engine deficit matters
Because Ferrari has already used both of the development opportunities available to it through the ADUO system, the limited reduction in the gap to Mercedes is especially important. The team’s manufacturers have not all advanced at the same rate through the mechanism, yet Ferrari still appears to be dealing with a substantial power disadvantage after completing its planned 2026 upgrades.
The comparison is particularly stark because the reported 20 hp deficit comes after a Monza development that had been expected to deliver a much larger gain. Rather than transforming Ferrari’s straight-line competitiveness, the available figures suggest the upgrade has only narrowed the underlying gap.
Hamilton’s experience during the Italian Grand Prix reinforced that picture on track. With Mercedes-powered cars able to overtake the seven-time world champion on the way to his sixth-place finish, Ferrari leaves Monza with the SF-26’s engine performance still one of the major technical areas separating it from the benchmark.
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