Formula 1 is now in the middle of its summer break, with factories required to remain closed and meetings or other work activities prohibited, at least in theory. When the championship resumes, the first challenge will be Zandvoort, which is set for its final year on the Formula 1 calendar. Two weeks later comes Monza, a weekend that could represent a major crossroads for Ferrari and the development of the SF-26.
The Italian Grand Prix is particularly important because Ferrari plans to introduce its second power-unit development through the FIA’s ADUO concession. The widespread assumption is that this step could finally allow the SF-26 to reach Mercedes on engine performance. In reality, however, the situation is considerably more complicated than it appears from the outside, with the Ferrari SF-26’s performance also influenced by aerodynamic drag and increasingly sophisticated hybrid-energy management.
Ferrari therefore enters the second half of the campaign with several interconnected areas to optimise, something also reflected in the wider analysis of the SF-26 development priorities during the F1 summer break. Before Monza, attention will first turn to the 2026 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort.
Ferrari SF-26 performance: where Toto Wolff’s doubts come from
Like Mercedes, Ferrari appears to have played its cards well when it comes to securing the possibility of future developments. However, it is worth starting with comments made recently by Toto Wolff, who raised some doubts about how the situation is being interpreted. The Mercedes team principal believes Ferrari’s engine is far from poor and instead considers it to be a fully competitive power unit.
According to Toto Wolff, the SF-26’s bigger issue lies on the aerodynamic side. The Ferrari was designed to generate a high level of downforce and, in Wolff’s view, this is one of the reasons why the Maranello car is already so close to the performance of the Mercedes W17. The question of drag has been an important part of the technical discussion around Ferrari since the beginning of the season.
In all probability, the SF-26 initially generated more aerodynamic resistance precisely because of its greater downforce. This was certainly not something Ferrari was unaware of beforehand. Frédéric Vasseur effectively supported Toto Wolff’s interpretation when he said: “We expected it to be quite tough for us on the engine side for at least one season.”
With those considerations in mind, there is no doubt that Ferrari has a power deficit. However, that limitation is not linked to the use of the FTM device. At the same time, it is equally clear that the SF-26 has been competitive even at circuits featuring several long full-throttle sections, where the car should theoretically have struggled more. That is another reason behind Toto Wolff’s doubts about attributing Ferrari’s deficit simply to the combustion engine.
Ferrari has unlocked major SF-26 gains through hybrid software
There is at least a partial explanation. From the Australian Grand Prix onwards, Ferrari has made an important step forward in battery management. Spa-Francorchamps provided perhaps the clearest demonstration of that progress because the Belgian circuit places particularly severe demands on energy recovery, leaving teams highly exposed to the phenomenon of super-clipping.
At the beginning of the season, Ferrari was forced to operate with a much greater level of super-clipping than Mercedes and suffered obvious problems with power delivery. By optimising the release of electrical energy and limiting even small amounts of unnecessary consumption, the engineers in Maranello managed to save a useful quantity of energy and mitigate the problem.
This has been a highly detailed process developed over many race weekends. During traction phases, for example, engineers must determine exactly how much electrical energy should be released for every percentage of throttle opening. Beyond a certain threshold, supplying additional power no longer produces greater acceleration and can simply increase wheelspin. There is therefore little point in releasing more energy than the tyres can effectively transmit to the track and wasting valuable deployment in the process.
A significant amount of performance has consequently been unlocked through software. Ferrari’s work on SF-26 energy deployment and power-unit software has helped reduce a deficit that initially appeared to come much more directly from the internal-combustion engine.
That does not mean the horsepower deficit is imaginary. It is real. However, a considerable proportion of the gap that was initially believed to derive exclusively from the combustion engine was probably connected instead to electronic energy management. Claims suggesting Ferrari is 40 or 50 horsepower behind are, however, wildly exaggerated.
Why Ferrari’s Monza engine upgrade will not completely close the Mercedes gap
Taking all of these factors into account, it would be natural to assume with some confidence that Ferrari could eliminate its deficit to Mercedes at its home Grand Prix. The second power-unit development scheduled for Italy will be more significant than the previous step introduced at Spielberg, but Frédéric Vasseur’s own comments have tempered expectations.
Ferrari has produced simulations of the impact the new specification should have on track, and the next development introduced through ADUO is not expected to eliminate the entire deficit to the Mercedes power unit. The gap is estimated at around 10 to 15 horsepower. Ferrari’s expected gains from the major Monza engine upgrade will therefore be important without necessarily putting the two power units on completely equal terms.
The difference between Ferrari and Mercedes does not lie solely in the power unit, either. The complete SF-26 package still requires further refinement if Ferrari is to extract all of its available potential. Aerodynamic efficiency, drag, energy management and the interaction between those elements all contribute to the car’s overall performance.
As Frédéric Vasseur explained: “When you look at Mercedes and Red Bull, we are talking about one or two tenths per lap of difference on the engine.”
Ferrari’s challenge at Monza will therefore be about more than simply evaluating the additional power offered by its second ADUO development. The Italian Grand Prix should provide an important indication of how much progress has been made across the entire SF-26 package and whether the combination of improved hybrid management and the latest power-unit step can bring Ferrari closer to Mercedes. For now, the definitive answer will have to wait until the cars take to the track at Monza.
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