Ferrari is continuing to develop the SF-26 despite its recent run of disappointing results, with a significant floor evolution and further aerodynamic updates now expected for the United States Grand Prix at Austin. The package is scheduled to arrive at the Circuit of the Americas on the weekend of 23–25 October, as Maranello maintains its commitment to improving the 2026 car through the end of the season.
The decision follows the strategy outlined by Ferrari team principal Frédéric Vasseur in recent weeks. Even after four consecutive Grands Prix without a podium, Ferrari has no intention of bringing development of the SF-26 to an early halt.
Ferrari keeps SF-26 development programme alive
Ferrari has structured its budget-cap spending around precisely this approach, aware that a large proportion of the work carried out on the current car can also be transferred into next year’s project. That connection between the two programmes is one of the reasons why Maranello believes continued SF-26 development can also benefit Ferrari’s 2027 Formula 1 car.
According to The Race, Ferrari has now identified the Austin Grand Prix as the target for the next important development step on the SF-26. The package has been delayed compared with the team’s original timetable but is expected to make its track debut at the Circuit of the Americas.
Ferrari preparing significant SF-26 floor upgrade for Austin
The planned Austin update is described as “a significant evolution of the floor and of the areas the aerodynamicists have continued to work on since the Barcelona Grand Prix”.
It is therefore a development package that Ferrari’s engineers have effectively been working on for around three months. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton are expected to run the new specification when Formula 1 reaches Austin in approximately one month’s time.
The arrival of another substantial aerodynamic step is particularly significant after a period in which questions have grown over how much Ferrari should continue investing in the current car. The team has nevertheless maintained that stopping development altogether would make little sense when much of the work can remain relevant beyond the 2026 championship.
Austin upgrade comes after demanding three-race sequence
Before Ferrari reaches Texas, however, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton must negotiate a demanding sequence of three Grands Prix in three weeks: Azerbaijan, Bahrain and Singapore. The complete sequence of upcoming races can be followed in the 2026 Formula 1 calendar.
The first challenge will come in Baku, where the characteristics of the long straights and energy deployment demands present another important test for the SF-26. Ferrari’s prospects for that weekend are examined in more detail in our analysis of the SF-26’s Baku energy and Straight Mode challenge.
Austin will then become the next major technical reference point for Ferrari. With the evolved floor and additional aerodynamic developments finally due to reach the track, the United States Grand Prix should provide Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton with their first opportunity to assess whether Maranello’s latest work can deliver another meaningful step for the SF-26 before the closing stages of the season.
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