Ferrari is preparing a comprehensive Monza package for the 2026 Italian Grand Prix, combining several low-drag modifications to the SF-26 with the likely introduction of its new ADUO-2 power unit. The Maranello team has developed a circuit-specific floor adaptation, will simplify its rear-wing configuration and has evaluated removing the FTM winglet, while a final decision is still required on whether the latest engine specification will make its debut at Ferrari’s home race.
The Italian Grand Prix comes immediately after a significant development step at Zandvoort, where Ferrari began a new phase in the evolution of the SF-26. A revised floor specification and new diffuser appeared in the Netherlands, but those components represent only part of the upgrade programme originally planned for this stage of the season.
Ferrari splits its latest SF-26 development programme
The original intention had been to introduce a more extensive update at Zandvoort. Ferrari ultimately decided to divide the programme, bringing forward solutions that had already reached a sufficient level of maturity while giving its engineers additional time to develop the lateral section of the floor.
According to The Race, the next floor update is expected later in the season, with the current introduction window stretching from Baku to Austin. The precise race has yet to be determined. Overall, the SF-26 upgrade package introduced at Zandvoort is estimated to have a potential benefit of approximately 0.15 seconds per lap.
This should not be viewed as a transformation of the SF-26, but rather as another refinement of its aerodynamic platform. It follows the evolution of the floor that Ferrari had already introduced at Barcelona in mid-June, with Maranello continuing to extract performance progressively rather than relying on a single dramatic upgrade.
Why Monza creates a different challenge for the SF-26
The Italian Grand Prix is inevitably one of the races Ferrari values most highly, but the technical significance of its home event goes beyond Monza’s traditional importance to the Scuderia. On paper, the circuit characteristics could be more favourable to the Mercedes and Red Bull power unit packages.
Monza’s long full-throttle sections reward outright power and effective energy management, but aerodynamic efficiency remains equally important. The challenge is not simply how much power a car possesses, but how much downforce it can retain for a given level of aerodynamic drag.
Finding the correct configuration for the SF-26 will therefore be crucial. With active aerodynamics and extensive use of the car’s straight-mode configuration, however, the compromise required at Monza could be less extreme than it has traditionally been.
The Italian circuit has long been associated with the lowest-downforce wing configurations of the Formula 1 season. Ferrari, though, appears to have taken a slightly less conventional approach to reducing drag with its 2026 car, looking beyond the wings alone when searching for straight-line efficiency.
Ferrari modifies rear wing and floor for Monza
The rear wing will naturally form part of Ferrari’s circuit-specific changes, but that has not been the sole focus of the team’s work. A high-downforce configuration was introduced in Hungary, and some elements from that package were retained for the Dutch Grand Prix.
Those additional devices will be removed at Monza. However, Ferrari is not expected to introduce an entirely bespoke rear wing specifically for the Italian circuit. Instead, the team will remove or modify selected bodywork and wing elements to adapt the SF-26 to the demands of the Temple of Speed.
The front wing is not expected to undergo major modifications, while the rear wing will be simplified through the removal of additional flaps. More significant work has been carried out underneath the car, where Ferrari engineers have developed a Monza-specific floor adaptation aimed at reducing aerodynamic drag.
The concept follows a similar direction to one already tested in Austria and Great Britain around two months ago. At those races, the single vertical element in the floor-bodywork area returned to the SF-26, and the same configuration is now set to reappear at Monza.
Ferrari’s approach is therefore not simply a case of trimming down the wings to reduce downforce. The engineers are also assessing how the floor itself can contribute to lowering the car’s overall aerodynamic resistance, an area that forms part of the wider SF-26 technical development programme.
Ferrari considered removing the FTM winglet
The FTM, or Flick Tail Mode, has also formed part of Ferrari’s evaluation for Monza. This small winglet is positioned ahead of the exhaust outlet, and one option considered by the team was to remove it completely in the search for lower drag.
Ferrari had already tested that solution at the Red Bull Ring with both Spa-Francorchamps and Monza in mind. In Belgium, however, the compromise in terms of grip and the uncertain weather conditions convinced the Scuderia to retain the winglet rather than sacrifice the downforce associated with it.
Removing the FTM was reconsidered for Monza as Maranello looked for ways to clean up the airflow in that area and minimise drag. Despite those evaluations, Ferrari is believed to have decided to keep the FTM on the SF-26, preferring to find aerodynamic resistance reductions elsewhere on the car.
ADUO-2 could become Ferrari’s biggest Monza development
The other element that could make the Italian Grand Prix particularly significant for Ferrari is the power unit. Maranello has prepared a new internal combustion engine update developed using the second of the two ADUO development opportunities available to the team.
The first ADUO upgrade was introduced in Austria alongside a new Shell fuel specification. ADUO-2 represents the next stage, although it remains only a partial step compared with the broader development work Ferrari is carrying out on its internal combustion engine for 2027.
The importance of that longer-term connection has already emerged in Ferrari’s ADUO-2 power unit development, with work for the current season providing an early indication of the direction Maranello is pursuing for next year.
Ferrari wants to synchronise ADUO-2 with fourth engine allocation
Ferrari is attempting to synchronise the introduction of ADUO-2 with the addition of a fourth internal combustion engine and fourth turbocharger to the seasonal pool of each driver. Both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton have so far used three internal combustion engines and three turbochargers.
Combining those two steps would allow the Scuderia to introduce its newest specification precisely when it would be putting a fresh unit into service anyway. Ferrari could then maximise the use of the updated version throughout the closing part of the season rather than introducing it independently of its planned component rotation.
It forms part of the careful management strategy surrounding Ferrari’s latest power unit, with Maranello already considering how to manage the ADUO-2 engine through the remaining races once it enters the pool.
Final decision on ADUO-2 Monza debut still to be made
Ferrari is under no obligation to introduce ADUO-2 at Monza. Although there is believed to be a very high probability of the new specification appearing at the Temple of Speed, the final decision has not yet been taken.
There are obvious reasons for targeting the Italian Grand Prix. Ferrari wants to extract the maximum possible performance in front of the Tifosi, while the competitive situation could also offer an opportunity because Andrea Kimi Antonelli is set to start from the back of the grid as a result of his Mercedes power unit penalty.
Even so, the Scuderia will make the final call according to its technical programme rather than simply because Monza is its home event. If ADUO-2 is introduced, it will arrive alongside a carefully adapted aerodynamic package designed to attack drag from several areas of the SF-26 rather than relying solely on an ultra-low-downforce rear wing.
The result is a Monza package that combines several strands of Ferrari’s 2026 development programme: the Zandvoort floor evolution, circuit-specific work underneath the car, simplified aerodynamic elements and potentially the latest version of the power unit. With the Italian Grand Prix approaching, the remaining question is whether Maranello will complete the package by giving ADUO-2 its competitive debut in front of the Tifosi.
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