Ferrari have made an important step forward compared with the 2025 Formula 1 season, but Giancarlo Minardi believes the journey back to becoming a consistently winning team is still far from complete. The former F1 team principal argues that while the SF-26 is competitive, Ferrari’s problems extend beyond the performance of the car itself.
According to Giancarlo Minardi, mistakes during race weekends show that Ferrari still have significant work to do across the organisation. His assessment echoes the demanding standards set by team principal Frédéric Vasseur, whose Ferrari 2026 mid-season verdict made clear that the progress achieved so far is still not enough.
Giancarlo Minardi says Ferrari must still work on the team
Assessing the first part of the 2026 Formula 1 season, Giancarlo Minardi identified an issue that goes beyond the outright performance of the SF-26.
“Unfortunately, I think there is still work to be done both on the car and on the team.”
The former Minardi team principal highlighted how strategic mistakes, hesitation on the pit wall and even errors from the drivers have sometimes prevented Ferrari from maximising their potential. The SF-26 has shown that it can compete towards the front, but extracting everything available from the package across an entire Grand Prix weekend remains just as important as improving the car itself.
Strategy mistakes and pressure are hurting Ferrari
For Giancarlo Minardi, the central problem concerns Ferrari’s overall management of race weekends.
“There have been strategy mistakes, mistakes in the pits and mistakes from the drivers.”
Those execution problems have already been visible during the season, including at the Hungaroring, where Ferrari failed to fully capitalise on the SF-26’s potential despite showing competitive performance during the weekend.
Giancarlo Minardi also believes the atmosphere surrounding Ferrari can create additional pressure on the team when expectations are raised too aggressively before a Grand Prix.
“Starting ten days beforehand by saying that this is the ideal Grand Prix to win creates nervousness and that pressure which then leads you to make mistakes.”
The message is clear: Ferrari should concentrate on optimising their potential race by race rather than burdening themselves with excessive expectations before a weekend has even begun.
Ferrari’s rebuilding process will take time
One of the most significant parts of Giancarlo Minardi’s assessment concerns the amount of work still required to return Ferrari permanently to the top of Formula 1. According to the former team principal, losing important technical figures in recent years has inevitably slowed the rebuilding process.
“When you lose important people who perhaps go on to do well elsewhere, rebuilding a team takes time.”
For that reason, Giancarlo Minardi believes patience will be essential: “To become a winning team again takes two or three years.”
Ferrari are continuing to develop the SF-26 while attempting to remain competitive in the current championship, with the team pursuing a race-by-race development approach during the 2026 season. However, Giancarlo Minardi’s argument is that technical progress alone will not be enough without the organisational structure and consistency required to execute complete weekends.
Lewis Hamilton can help accelerate Ferrari’s progress
Giancarlo Minardi nevertheless sees a positive element within Ferrari’s project: the experience of Lewis Hamilton. In his view, the seven-time Formula 1 world champion represents a valuable resource not only behind the wheel but particularly in helping the team develop its internal organisation.
The experience Lewis Hamilton accumulated during Mercedes’ most successful years could help Ferrari anticipate some of the fundamental steps required when building a winning organisation. His contribution therefore extends beyond pure driving performance as Ferrari continue the wider process of strengthening the team around the SF-26.
Lewis Hamilton remains firmly involved in Ferrari’s 2026 ambitions, even after mistakes and penalties cost valuable opportunities during the opening half of the campaign, as shown by the breakdown of the points Lewis Hamilton has lost in Ferrari’s title fight.
Ferrari have the foundations but need consistency
Giancarlo Minardi’s assessment presents the picture of a Ferrari team that is competitive but not yet complete. The SF-26 has demonstrated that it can fight for victories and podium finishes, yet events during the first part of the season have underlined how much room for improvement remains in organisation, strategic management and the ability to execute near-perfect race weekends.
In Giancarlo Minardi’s view, Ferrari have the potential required to return to the top of Formula 1. What they now need is patience, continuity and enough time to complete a rebuilding process that cannot be accelerated overnight.
Leave a Reply