Ferrari has officially confirmed that the SF-26 continues to suffer from intermittent correlation issues between simulation data and real-world track performance, providing further insight into one of the team’s most persistent technical challenges during the 2026 Formula 1 season.
Following the Monaco Grand Prix, Jerome d’Ambrosio stepped in for Fred Vasseur in Ferrari’s media duties, despite the team principal being present at the circuit after undergoing precautionary medical checks on Saturday. While discussing Charles Leclerc’s accident, the deputy team principal also addressed a topic that has increasingly attracted attention inside the paddock: correlation between Ferrari’s simulation tools and actual track behaviour.
“There is not 100% correlation between what we expected at some races and what actually happened on track,” Jerome d’Ambrosio admitted.
He then added: “We must not create too many expectations, otherwise there is a risk of reacting badly during the weekend. We need to remain as focused and neutral as possible in order to take advantage of every opportunity.”
The comments represent the first official acknowledgment from senior Ferrari management of concerns that Lewis Hamilton has already raised publicly several times throughout the season.
Jerome d’Ambrosio confirms Lewis Hamilton’s simulator concerns
The central issue is that Ferrari’s correlation problems have not disappeared completely. Instead, they appear intermittently and only at certain circuits, making them particularly difficult to identify and resolve.
Preparation for every Formula 1 weekend relies heavily on simulation accuracy. While Ferrari possesses some of the most advanced tools available in the sport, even the most sophisticated simulator can only be as reliable as the data and assumptions fed into it.
The virtual model of the car must accurately replicate reality, but the mathematical representation of each circuit must also be equally precise. If the characteristics of the track surface, grip levels, bumps, or temperature evolution are not predicted correctly, discrepancies inevitably emerge between simulation results and on-track performance.
Most likely, Ferrari is dealing not with a single major error but with a collection of minor inaccuracies spread across multiple virtual models. Individually, these differences may be insignificant, but together they can distort the final picture and lead engineers in the wrong direction.
Tyre behaviour remains the most critical factor
To understand Ferrari’s challenge, it is important to examine one of the most difficult aspects of modern Formula 1: tyre management.
As has been highlighted repeatedly throughout the season, the SF-26 often struggles to remain within its optimal operating window for an entire race stint. Instead, peak performance tends to appear only during relatively short phases of a race.
According to Ferrari’s analysis, these inconsistencies are closely linked to tyre behaviour.
While the aerodynamic package generally receives positive feedback from both drivers and engineers, tyre performance continues to generate frustration. During the Monaco Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton reported excessive overheating on the surface of the rear tyres during the opening laps of the race.
That anomaly may have originated from inaccuracies in the mathematical tyre model used during simulation work. Ferrari combines its own internal tyre modelling with data supplied by Pirelli. However, predicting the exact thermal behaviour of a Formula 1 tyre remains one of the most complex engineering challenges in the sport.
Engineers must forecast temperatures not only on the tyre surface but also within the bulk of the tyre structure. Small errors in asphalt characteristics, ambient conditions, or even subtle changes in a driver’s style can push the tyres outside their ideal operating range, triggering sudden losses of grip that software struggles to predict accurately.
Ferrari working to solve the issue before summer
Importantly, Ferrari does not believe the problem stems from a complete lack of correlation. Instead, the issue appears to involve an incorrect overlap of variables that produces a distorted picture of how the car will behave once it reaches the track.
When that connection between virtual simulations and reality weakens, even the most advanced simulator requires significant input from drivers and engineers to restore accuracy.
This makes the days immediately following a Grand Prix particularly important. Drivers must carefully describe how the SF-26 behaved in specific situations, while engineers attempt to reproduce those characteristics mathematically in order to refine the virtual model. The process is far from simple because numerous factors interact simultaneously, making it difficult to isolate the precise cause of any discrepancy.
For example, if the SF-26 develops a certain level of understeer in a particular section of a circuit but the simulator fails to predict it, engineers must revisit the underlying mathematical assumptions and recalibrate the model accordingly.
In many ways, the process resembles continuous reverse engineering, with Ferrari constantly comparing simulation predictions against real-world data and refining its understanding of the car.
The encouraging news for the Scuderia is that work on the issue has been ongoing for some time. According to sources within the team, Ferrari remains confident that the remaining correlation problems can be resolved before the summer break, potentially allowing the SF-26 to unlock a more consistent level of performance during the second half of the season.
Leave a Reply