Ferrari’s SF-26 appears to have found a particularly effective mechanical setup for the 2026 Mexico City Grand Prix, with Charles Leclerc gaining a significant advantage under braking at Turns 1, 4 and 12. The Italian team’s strong performance during the first two free practice sessions has highlighted the car’s stability, front-end response and traction, characteristics that could prove particularly valuable at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.
Ferrari has adopted distinctive setup choices for the Mexican circuit, where the unusual environmental conditions present challenges for aerodynamic performance, power-unit management and mechanical grip. Analysis of the Friday running suggests that the SF-26 is performing especially well through slower corners and over kerbs, allowing Charles Leclerc to exploit the car’s strengths despite the uncertainties surrounding its outright power-unit performance.
Ferrari’s Mexico GP performance depends on more than engine power
The thinner air at Mexico City’s high altitude has encouraged teams to adopt relatively conservative engine mappings during practice in order to protect reliability. According to technical analyst Federico Albano, the true power levels available from the different power units will only become apparent during qualifying, when drivers are required to extract maximum performance.
Lower air density also reduces aerodynamic drag, allowing Formula 1 cars to reach speeds of around 350 km/h at the Mexican circuit. However, Ferrari could lose some of its apparent Friday advantage once rival teams increase their power-unit output for qualifying.
For now, though, the SF-26 has demonstrated encouraging competitiveness for several reasons. Its performance appears to depend not simply on outright speed but also on the way the car behaves under braking, during corner entry and through traction-limited sections.
The question of whether Ferrari can maintain that advantage is particularly important after the updates introduced at Austin and the new challenges presented by Mexico.
Ferrari SF-26 impresses with mechanical balance and braking stability
Federico Albano highlighted the SF-26’s encouraging single-lap performance, noting that its effectiveness does not appear to depend exclusively on the condition of the tyres.
“Ferrari continues to impress over a single lap, regardless of tyre condition. Whether on new or used tyres, the SF-26 appears effective, well balanced and capable of delivering strong performance. There are some differences compared with FP1, particularly in the opening part of the Esses, where Ferrari seemed to perform better in the first session. However, Charles Leclerc completed his lap on heavily used tyres, so the overall picture remains very positive.”
The observations suggest that Ferrari has established a promising baseline setup, even though the car’s behaviour is not identical across the two practice sessions. Charles Leclerc’s ability to produce competitive lap times on worn tyres provides another encouraging indication ahead of qualifying.
Charles Leclerc gains time under braking at Turns 1, 4 and 12
The most important area in which Charles Leclerc appears to make the difference is braking. At Turns 1, 4 and 12, the Monegasque builds an advantage over his rivals, highlighting a particularly valuable characteristic of the SF-26.
The car combines a responsive front end with a rear axle that maintains grip during the braking phase. Although the Ferrari’s rear end can appear unsettled in onboard footage, the effects of Mexico City’s altitude must also be considered, particularly because the reduced air density limits the downforce generated by this generation of Formula 1 cars.
This balance between front-end response and rear stability is particularly important when drivers are trying to extract the maximum performance from the car during qualifying.
The differences in braking, corner-entry speed and acceleration can be explored in greater detail through the F1 qualifying telemetry and corner comparison, which provides speed, braking and throttle data for individual corners.
Ferrari’s softer mechanical setup helps Charles Leclerc attack the kerbs
The updates introduced to the SF-26 also appear to have given Ferrari’s engineers greater freedom with the mechanical setup. At the Mexico City circuit, the car has stood out for its ability to deal with bumps and kerbs while maintaining effective traction.
Federico Albano believes Ferrari is running a relatively soft mechanical configuration, which helps explain the SF-26’s performance in slower sections.
“Ferrari appears to be running a relatively soft mechanical setup, as was clearly evident when going over the kerbs, which the car handled very effectively even when they were particularly high. It is no coincidence that the Ferraris perform well in slow corners and maintain good traction despite the well-known lack of horsepower, two fundamental characteristics at a circuit like Mexico, where mechanical grip plays a central role,” the analyst explained.
In slower corners, the SF-26 rotates effectively without allowing the rear tyres to slide excessively. This gives Charles Leclerc an important advantage in sections where maintaining rear grip is essential, particularly when the tyres are placed under significant stress.
Such behaviour could become crucial over a single lap in qualifying, but it may also prove valuable during the race. Limiting unnecessary rear-tyre sliding can help the driver maintain traction when accelerating out of slower corners.
For Ferrari, the signs from Friday are encouraging. The SF-26 appears mechanically well suited to the demands of Mexico, with Charles Leclerc making particularly effective use of its braking stability and cornering characteristics.
However, the competitive picture could still change when teams unlock more power-unit performance in qualifying. Ferrari’s challenge will be to preserve its mechanical advantages while limiting the impact of any straight-line deficit, an issue that has already featured in comparisons between Ferrari and Mercedes at Austin.
Whether the SF-26’s impressive performance through the corners is enough to maintain its advantage will become clearer when the drivers push their cars to the limit in qualifying.
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