Ferrari must quickly move on from the disappointment of the Austrian Grand Prix. That is the team’s primary objective as Formula 1 heads to the legendary Silverstone Circuit for the British Grand Prix weekend. However, the iconic British venue is far from an ideal track for the Maranello squad, mainly because of the exceptionally high percentage of full-throttle running required over the course of a lap. To be competitive, Ferrari must find the ideal hybrid setup while maximizing every aspect of the SF-26’s performance.
Achieving that objective is made even more challenging by the Sprint weekend format, where the team has only a single one-hour free practice session to prepare both cars before qualifying begins.
From the very first laps, it is clear that every minute on track will be valuable. The Maranello team’s engineers and technicians have carefully prepared a baseline setup back at the factory, but now it must be validated under real track conditions. Silverstone’s unique combination of high-speed corners, long straights and rapid direction changes places enormous demands on both the car and the drivers, making setup work particularly important.
Ferrari focuses heavily on hybrid energy management
The white-striped Pirelli hard tyres are fitted and both Ferrari cars leave the garage even before the pit lane officially opens, eager to begin their Silverstone programme. Ambient conditions are relatively stable, with an air temperature of 22 degrees Celsius, humidity sitting at 50 percent and only a light south-easterly breeze blowing at around 2.7 km/h. The asphalt temperature has already climbed to 40 degrees, and with the sunshine continuing, it is expected to increase further as the session progresses.
As soon as the green light appears, both Ferrari drivers begin their installation laps around Silverstone. From the very beginning, radio communications immediately focus on the power unit, highlighting just how important energy management will be throughout the weekend. Engineers provide detailed instructions regarding the hybrid deployment maps to be used during the opening run. Ferrari initially adopts a medium-low deployment configuration, a strategy designed to maximize energy recovery rather than immediately chasing outright performance.
Tyre preparation also receives considerable attention. Both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton spend much of the out-lap weaving aggressively across the circuit in an effort to generate temperature in the front tyres and prepare them for the first timed laps. Only as they approach the final corners do both drivers switch into push mode and begin their first representative laps of the session.
Listening carefully to the onboard audio immediately reveals the pronounced clipping that Ferrari is experiencing through Silverstone’s ultra-fast sections. The drivers are forced to slightly lift the throttle through some of the circuit’s famous high-speed corners to ensure they do not completely deplete the battery before reaching the following straights. It is not an ideal situation, but it remains a necessary compromise given the current characteristics of the Italian side’s power unit package.
At this stage, it is possible to notice that Ferrari still appears to trail Mercedes in terms of outright engine performance. However, with fuel loads, engine modes and testing programmes differing significantly between teams during practice, it remains far too early to reach any definitive conclusions regarding the true competitive picture.
After completing a cooling lap to reduce tyre temperatures, both Ferrari drivers immediately begin pushing once again. Watching the steering wheel inputs provides encouraging signs. The SF-26 appears composed and predictable during the opening phase of the session. There is a slight amount of oversteer present, but it does not appear particularly disruptive. Instead, it actually helps rotate the car through the slower corners, allowing the drivers to point the nose toward the apex more effectively.
Even so, Charles Leclerc still has room for improvement through Turns 1, 3, 4, 9 and 14. In these sections of the circuit, Lewis Hamilton currently appears to enjoy slightly greater confidence and a stronger overall feeling with the balance of the Ferrari.
Ferrari has a solid baseline setup but more fine-tuning is needed
As the session progresses, the SF-26 continues to display a fairly neutral handling balance. From an aerodynamic point of view, Ferrari has chosen to run the single-vertical-element bargeboard specification, believing this configuration to be better suited to the characteristics of the Silverstone circuit.
The team’s programme proceeds smoothly and without interruptions, allowing both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton to continue collecting valuable data for the engineers back in the garage. The hard tyres prove particularly useful for this work because they provide consistent performance over longer runs, making it easier to evaluate setup changes without excessive degradation influencing the results.
Overall, Ferrari appears to have slightly too much rotation through medium-speed corners, while the car still lacks absolute precision in the fastest sections, where consistently clipping every apex remains difficult. These observations should also be viewed in the context of evolving track conditions. Grip levels remain relatively low during the early stages of the weekend, and the circuit will continue to rubber in as more cars complete laps throughout the day.
Because of these changing conditions, it will only become possible to fully understand Ferrari’s true balance once the softer tyre compounds are fitted later in the session.
Nevertheless, the initial indications remain encouraging. The Maranello team appears to have arrived at Silverstone with a fundamentally solid setup, providing an excellent foundation upon which the engineers can build. Some additional fine-tuning will still be necessary to optimize the overall handling balance and allow both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton to extract the maximum potential from the SF-26.
Without yet utilizing the most aggressive power unit settings, a noticeable engine performance deficit can still be observed. Understanding exactly how much this shortfall affects overall lap time will become one of Ferrari’s most important evaluation points during the remainder of the weekend.
After approximately 25 minutes on track, both Ferrari cars return to the garage to complete their opening run and begin making further adjustments.
Ferrari adjusts the suspension and improves rear stability
The stop in the pit lane is deliberately brief. Only a few minutes later, both SF-26 cars return to the circuit once again on another set of hard tyres. During the garage stop, Ferrari introduces several small suspension adjustments. The effect becomes visible almost immediately, with the SF-26 appearing noticeably more stable at the rear axle than during the opening run. The drivers continue producing encouraging lap times while also providing valuable feedback over the radio.
The biggest remaining unknown continues to be the apparent engine performance deficit and how much it could influence Ferrari’s competitiveness once rival teams begin pushing harder. Even so, having established a promising baseline setup after only a handful of laps already represents an important achievement. On a Sprint weekend, where teams have just a single practice session before parc fermé conditions come into effect, arriving with a competitive starting point is often one of the decisive factors for the remainder of the event.
Ferrari’s second run is shorter than the first and includes several visits through the pit lane. These passes allow the engineers to carry out practice starts while simultaneously making small adjustments to front-end load and overall balance.
Comparing the two Ferrari drivers, Lewis Hamilton once again appears to feel slightly more comfortable behind the wheel than Charles Leclerc. The seven-time Formula 1 World Champion looks particularly confident during corner entry, where he is able to consistently place the SF-26 exactly where he wants it.
During one radio exchange, after Lewis Hamilton requests additional feedback regarding the car, race engineer Carlo Santi replies that everything looks good. The encouraging message appears to refer not only to the car’s balance but also to Ferrari’s hybrid energy management strategy, an area expected to play a decisive role throughout the British Grand Prix weekend. Efficient deployment of electrical energy remains one of the biggest technical challenges at Silverstone, where maximizing battery usage without suffering excessive clipping can make a significant difference over an entire lap.
Silverstone GP FP1: Promising signs from the SF-26 with Lewis Hamilton
Following the second garage stop, Ferrari enters what is arguably the most important phase of the session. The red-striped Pirelli soft tyres are fitted for the first qualifying simulation, providing substantially more grip than the hard C1 compound used previously.
Charles Leclerc is the first Ferrari driver to begin a representative qualifying run. His tyre warm-up procedure is extremely careful and methodical, reflecting just how sensitive the soft compound can be when chasing maximum grip.
Unfortunately, during the opening sector Charles Leclerc encounters traffic approaching Turn 3 and briefly loses the rear of the SF-26 while adjusting his line. Despite that moment, the remainder of the lap is remarkably clean. Although he still misses the apex in one or two corners, it appears that he has not yet found complete confidence with the balance of the Ferrari. After completing the lap, Charles Leclerc immediately performs a cooldown lap before preparing for another attempt.
Lewis Hamilton then begins his own qualifying simulation. The British driver also encounters traffic during the opening sector but manages the situation effectively without significantly compromising the lap. Although he experiences a small snap at Luffield in Sector 2, the remainder of the lap is extremely strong, particularly through the final sector where his confidence in the SF-26 becomes especially evident.
Neither Charles Leclerc nor Lewis Hamilton manages to produce an absolutely perfect lap, which is entirely normal during a practice session. Nevertheless, Lewis Hamilton climbs to the top of the timing screens by extracting outstanding performance through the final sector, while Charles Leclerc records the third-fastest time after losing valuable tenths mainly in the opening half of the lap.
Tyre management also becomes an important discussion point during this phase of the session. Unlike the hard compound, the soft Pirelli tyres require much more careful preparation in order to deliver their peak level of grip over a single flying lap.
As the session approaches its conclusion, both Ferrari drivers still have enough time for one final qualifying simulation. Neither Charles Leclerc nor Lewis Hamilton is able to improve their previous lap times, but the overall impression remains very positive. It is still impossible to accurately judge Ferrari’s true competitive position because Formula 1 practice sessions rarely reveal the complete picture. Different fuel loads, engine modes and testing programmes often disguise the real performance of each team.
Even so, the signs from Silverstone’s only practice session are undoubtedly encouraging. The SF-26 appears well-balanced, predictable and fundamentally competitive, providing Ferrari with a strong platform ahead of Sprint Qualifying. While further refinements will undoubtedly be required as the weekend progresses, both the balance of the car and the positive feedback from Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc suggest that Ferrari has every reason to approach qualifying with genuine optimism.
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