Ferrari’s difficult run has now stretched to four consecutive Grands Prix without either Charles Leclerc or Lewis Hamilton reaching the podium. After the disappointment of Monza, Madrid also fell well short of expectations due to a combination of circumstances, raising an increasingly uncomfortable question for Maranello: is it already time to turn more attention towards next season?
The results are becoming difficult to ignore. Ferrari had been expected to make a step forward after the previous races, particularly following the technical updates introduced across recent Grand Prix weekends, but that progress has yet to translate into the results the team needs. The Scuderia remains competitive in certain areas, yet the details that decide Formula 1 races continue to work against it.
Ferrari’s podium drought reaches four races
The absence of a podium for four consecutive rounds is particularly difficult to accept because expectations had risen around the SF-26. Ferrari has continued working on the car and introducing updates, with the team’s recent development path covered throughout our Ferrari technical analysis, but the improvement has not yet produced the decisive change in results that Maranello had hoped for.
The championship situation makes the setback even more painful. After the Italian Grand Prix, the drivers’ title fight had effectively moved firmly in Kimi Antonelli’s direction, while the Constructors’ Championship is also increasingly appearing to favour Mercedes. Ferrari had genuine opportunities in Madrid, but a combination of bad luck and technical problems left the Italian team away from the leading positions.
Formula 1 is often decided by fine margins, and those small details currently appear to be precisely what Ferrari is missing. Reliability then added another complication in Spain, with a brake-system problem forcing Lewis Hamilton to retire on lap seven.
It was a particularly frustrating outcome because Hamilton believed the SF-26 had the potential that day to challenge for the podium and potentially even fight for victory. His retirement therefore removed one of Ferrari’s strongest opportunities before the race had properly developed. The mechanical setback can also be viewed in the wider context of Formula 1 reliability and DNF statistics as the season progresses.
Lewis Hamilton continues to push Ferrari despite title setback
Despite the disappointment, Lewis Hamilton continues to encourage the people around him not to give up. With the championship now effectively beyond reach, the focus is no longer simply on the title but on trying to win more Grands Prix before the end of the season.
Hamilton has taken on an important motivational role as he attempts to keep Ferrari together during a difficult phase. The team currently appears less united than it did only a few races ago, with recent tensions and responsibilities inside Maranello becoming another point of attention. Fred Vasseur has already stressed the need for both drivers to protect the team and take responsibility, an issue explored further in the recent discussion around Ferrari’s internal management of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.
On the other side of the garage, Charles Leclerc tried to rescue Ferrari’s weekend with a different race strategy. The Monegasque started on the hard compound and extended the stint in the hope that a Safety Car or another Virtual Safety Car might appear towards the end of the race and create an opportunity.
That scenario never materialised. For Leclerc, the Spanish Grand Prix remained uneventful from that strategic perspective as well, leaving him unable to turn the alternative approach into the bigger result Ferrari had hoped for.
Baku could expose another Ferrari weakness
Predicting what Ferrari can achieve over the coming rounds is becoming increasingly difficult. At this stage, the possibility of finishing the season without another victory has become a realistic concern.
The next round in Baku could prove especially demanding. Ferrari risks another difficult weekend because of the SF-26’s problems with recovering and managing energy effectively through the hybrid power unit, an area that could become particularly important around the Azerbaijan street circuit. The place of Baku within the remaining schedule can be followed through the 2026 Formula 1 calendar.
Even after the introduction of ADUO 2 at Monza, Ferrari may be dealing with an improvement that has fallen short of expectations. That inevitably raises a strategic question inside and outside Maranello: does it still make sense to continue bringing substantial developments to the SF-26, or would those resources be better directed towards the next Formula 1 season?
Should Ferrari already shift its focus to next season?
That is likely a question many Ferrari supporters have already been asking for several weeks. The team entered this phase of the season hoping its recent technical work could produce a meaningful step, yet the results have instead brought another prolonged spell without a podium and increasingly distant championship objectives.
There are still races remaining and Hamilton continues to push for victories before the season ends, but Ferrari now faces a difficult balance between extracting everything possible from the SF-26 and deciding when its longer-term priorities should take precedence.
For the tifosi, it is another painful summer in which the optimism surrounding Ferrari’s championship ambitions has gradually been replaced by frustration. What happens over the next few races could determine not only whether the Scuderia can return to the top step before the end of 2026, but also how quickly attention shifts towards building a stronger campaign for next year.
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