Ferrari will arrive at the 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix with renewed confidence after the SF-26 overturned expectations at Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps. The two high-energy circuits were supposed to expose the car’s most significant weaknesses, yet Ferrari emerged from the double-header with 81 points, compared with 56 for Mercedes and 36 apiece for Red Bull and McLaren.
The results have underlined how difficult the Ferrari SF-26 remains to assess. Its true potential is still not entirely clear, but after two weekends that had been viewed inside Maranello as potentially damaging, the Italian team has instead confirmed that its development programme is moving in the right direction. The outcome was particularly encouraging at Spa, where Charles Leclerc finished second and Lewis Hamilton recovered to fourth.
Ferrari SF-26 overturns expectations at Silverstone and Spa
Ferrari is not yet in a position to trouble Mercedes consistently in the battle for Formula 1’s biggest prizes. However, the SF-26’s current development trajectory has, at least for the moment, allowed the Scuderia to move ahead of McLaren and Red Bull. That does not represent Maranello’s ultimate ambition, but only a few months ago, even this level of progress would have been far from guaranteed.
At Spa, Charles Leclerc briefly allowed himself to dream of a second consecutive victory after a Virtual Safety Car was deployed at the perfect moment for Ferrari’s strategy. The greater performance available to the Mercedes-Kimi Antonelli combination eventually restored the expected competitive order, but Mercedes had to exploit everything its car had available to defeat Ferrari. The outcome reinforced the more positive conclusions from Ferrari’s wider Belgian Grand Prix performance.
“On paper, Spa and Silverstone were two of the most difficult weekends for us,” Frederic Vasseur admitted. “Overall, we can say that it went rather well. It is clear that Kimi had something more today in terms of pure performance, but our execution over the weekend was good and that allowed us to fight. In the future, there will be circuits that suit our technical package better, but today you cannot take anything for granted because everyone continues to develop their cars.”
Kimi Antonelli’s speed ultimately proved decisive, with the Mercedes driver making full use of the performance advantage available to him. His success also required careful management of the car throughout a demanding race, as explained in an analysis of the key challenge behind Mercedes’ Spa victory.
Qualifying remains Ferrari’s most important weakness
On a circuit such as Spa-Francorchamps, Ferrari’s deficit to Mercedes was approximately two tenths of a second in race pace, while the gap was wider in qualifying. It is over a single lap that the Scuderia currently appears most vulnerable.
That weakness has important consequences on Sunday. Starting further down the grid leaves Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in dirty air during the opening phase of a race, preventing them from fully exploiting the SF-26’s potential over a longer stint.
“I don’t think we can make major steps forward in this area in the short term,” Frederic Vasseur explained when discussing Ferrari’s qualifying competitiveness. “We are practically at the limit. It is probably a characteristic of the power unit that helps Mercedes a little more over a single lap, while perhaps it favours us in the race, although we are not absolutely certain about that. There is not much we can do other than continue developing the car, adding performance and getting closer and closer to Mercedes.”
The difference between qualifying and race performance is one of the defining challenges created by the new technical package. Ferrari and Mercedes have already explained why the 2026 Formula 1 power units are so difficult to manage, particularly when teams must balance outright deployment with energy conservation over a full race distance.
Charles Leclerc finds confidence as Lewis Hamilton limits the damage
The Belgian Grand Prix also confirmed Charles Leclerc’s growing confidence behind the wheel of the SF-26. His race was almost faultless, with the only significant concern coming from the risk he took during contact with Oscar Piastri’s McLaren.
For several laps, Charles Leclerc appeared to have a genuine opportunity to win. Although Mercedes ultimately possessed greater outright performance, the Ferrari driver’s execution and the timing of the Virtual Safety Car kept him in contention, supporting his view that Ferrari had a real chance of victory at Spa-Francorchamps.
A double Ferrari podium might also have been possible had Lewis Hamilton’s race not been compromised by his contact with George Russell at Les Combes. Nevertheless, the final assessment of Lewis Hamilton’s afternoon remained positive.
The incident could easily have resulted in a retirement or a heavily compromised race, but Lewis Hamilton still recovered to fourth place. The 12 points he collected allowed him to return to the position immediately behind Kimi Antonelli in the Drivers’ Championship standings.
Lewis Hamilton’s recovery was even more significant considering the limitations he encountered during the race. Ferrari’s difficulties in maximising Lewis Hamilton’s Belgian Grand Prix pace demonstrated how small execution details can affect the SF-26 when the competitive margins are so narrow.
Why the Hungaroring could suit the Ferrari SF-26
Ferrari now approaches a weekend in which it will aim for the maximum possible result. On paper — although predictions based on circuit characteristics have frequently been disproved this season — the Hungaroring should suit the SF-26 particularly well.
The Hungarian circuit features numerous slow corners, relatively few long straights and a much smaller power-unit influence than Spa-Francorchamps or Silverstone. Those characteristics should theoretically allow Ferrari to exploit the strengths of its chassis while reducing the impact of one of its most visible limitations.
Frederic Vasseur, however, immediately urged caution. “Next week, everyone will bring updates and today it is impossible to know what the performance picture will be. We must also not forget that a large part of performance depends on execution: tyre management, tyre preparation and set-up probably matter more than the circuit configuration.”
Charles Leclerc has delivered a similar warning, explaining why Ferrari cannot simply assume that Hungary will favour the SF-26. A theoretically suitable circuit will not guarantee a strong result if Ferrari fails to optimise its tyres, car balance and weekend execution.
Was Frederic Vasseur simply being superstitious? Perhaps that was part of it. “On paper, circuits such as Silverstone and Spa were probably more difficult for us than others,” the Ferrari team principal concluded. “But we must continue with the same approach and not think that the next race will be easy. It never is.”
There is no doubt that the Hungarian Grand Prix will not be easy. However, it is becoming equally difficult to deny that Ferrari will arrive at the Hungaroring with a genuine opportunity to fight for any result. Fans following the weekend can consult the complete 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix timetable and television schedule.
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