A weekend to forget for the Ferrari Formula 1 team, which leaves the Miami Grand Prix with only a sixth place finish for Lewis Hamilton in a single-seater that was significantly compromised after damage sustained on the opening lap of the race. The red car, however, did not appear to meet the expectations that had been built around it heading into the fourth round of the 2026 Formula 1 season, especially considering that McLaren made a noticeably larger step forward in overall competitiveness compared to Ferrari across the full race weekend. Charles Leclerc was also penalized for track limits on the final lap and, even without that penalty, he did not have the race pace required to realistically fight for a podium position at any stage of the Grand Prix.
Ferrari leaves Miami essentially licking its wounds after what can only be described as a disappointing overall performance in the context of its own ambitions. The Maranello-based team arrived in Florida with the clear intention of challenging Mercedes and trying to position itself as a direct contender for victories. However, it was Mercedes that ultimately secured its fourth victory of the season, with Kimi Antonelli dominating the field even while driving a W17 that carried practically no major updates compared to previous races. At the same time, the Maranello team had introduced what was considered the most substantial upgrade package of the weekend, even more extensive in scope than McLaren and Red Bull, both of whom also brought significant modifications to their cars and continued to evolve their performance envelope.
When looking at the raw numbers from the race weekend in Miami, the situation becomes even clearer and more difficult to ignore from a performance analysis perspective. Mercedes collected a total of 37 points, McLaren managed to score 33 points, while Ferrari could only bring home 14 points, which is just four more than Red Bull over the same weekend. In this context, the SF-26, despite the various operational issues, mistakes, and external factors affecting both drivers, has effectively dropped to being the third force on the current Formula 1 grid. This situation is further complicated by the fact that Max Verstappen is now closing the gap in the championship picture, especially when considering that the previous Red Bull RB22 had at one point been struggling with a much larger performance deficit to the very front of the field.
The general feeling emerging from the paddock and technical analysis is that Ferrari has not progressed enough in absolute performance terms, even if there are still clear areas of improvement compared to earlier races. Charles Leclerc, for example, produced a very strong start from the second row of the grid and was able to take the lead of the race, holding that position for 13 laps. In clean air, particularly when running on medium tyres, the Ferrari SF-26 appeared to be in a much more comfortable operating window, with better balance and more predictable tyre behaviour. However, once the Moneagsque was caught up in the leading group and switched onto the hard compound tyres, the overall balance of the car seemed to deteriorate significantly. At that point, he began to struggle more noticeably, losing consistent lap time due to an unexpected and unplanned overheating issue affecting the rear tyres, which compromised traction and long-run stability.
Charles Leclerc, apart from the mistake he made on the final lap for which he took full personal responsibility and which resulted in a 20-second penalty, did not realistically have the race pace needed to fight for a podium finish in normal conditions. It is also important to note that the Monegasque driver only managed to set the fifth fastest lap of the race, and that time was still six tenths of a second slower than the benchmark set by Kimi Antonelli during the Grand Prix. In the paddock, the dominant narrative has increasingly pointed towards a serious engine-related performance deficit for Ferrari. Some estimates circulating within technical discussions suggest a gap of around 30 horsepower in comparison to the Mercedes internal combustion engine. The introduction of the new energy management software was expected to help close part of this gap, but it is possible that it did not deliver the expected performance gains. However, in realistic terms, the overall power deficit appears to have remained broadly similar to what was already observed at the beginning of the season, when estimates placed it at around 20 to 25 horsepower.
The growing concern inside and outside Ferrari is that the aerodynamic upgrade package, while clearly functional and offering some measurable improvements, is not sufficient on its own to close the gap to the very front of the field. This is particularly relevant when considering that the power unit department led by Enrico Gualtieri accepted certain compromises on the V6 turbo architecture in order to further develop and maximize the aerodynamic concept of the SF-26 chassis. Meanwhile, both McLaren and Red Bull appear to be progressing at a faster development rate, both in terms of aerodynamic efficiency and overall car integration. Early simulations carried out in Maranello had generated a degree of cautious optimism, suggesting that the car could be more competitive in Miami, but Lewis Hamilton later admitted that the correlation between simulator work and real-world performance had not been correctly achieved.
Lewis Hamilton explained that, ultimately, the issue comes down to a lack of proper correlation between simulator data and on-track behaviour. The Briton stated that the team performs extensive simulator work, but when the car arrives on track, it behaves in a noticeably different way compared to expectations. Lewis Hamilton also mentioned that, although he personally does not particularly enjoy simulator work, he had been using it every week in preparation for this race weekend in an attempt to improve understanding and performance. However, since this preparation did not translate into the expected results on track, he indicated that he would not use the simulator to prepare for the Canadian Grand Prix. Instead, he said he would focus more on attending factory meetings and technical briefings. He also pointed out that his strongest weekend of the season so far, which came in China, was achieved without simulator preparation.
Lewis Hamilton further reiterated that he would continue to participate in factory meetings and engineering discussions, but would take a short break from simulator usage in order to reassess its effectiveness and value in the current development process. If correlation issues continue to persist, this becomes a serious structural problem for Ferrari, especially given that the team is already expecting the next significant power unit upgrade, internally referred to as ADUO, not to arrive before July at the earliest.
In Miami, Lewis Hamilton also drove a SF-26 that was visibly compromised after contact with the Alpine car of Franco Colapinto, which resulted in damage to the left bargeboard and caused an estimated loss of around half a second per lap, in addition to contributing to further power unit overheating issues. Despite these limitations, the British driver managed to defend his position as effectively as possible and eventually crossed the finish line in sixth place, especially after the penalty applied to Charles Leclerc was taken into account.
The seven-time Formula 1 World Champion stated that the Ferrari is not fundamentally a bad car in overall design terms, but he clearly emphasized that it lacks straight-line speed, effectively confirming a consistent deficit in high-end power performance compared to its main rivals.
Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur adopted a more cautious and measured tone in his assessment of the situation. The French manager explained that it is clear Ferrari does not currently have an advantage on the straights, and he pointed out that this becomes particularly problematic during wheel-to-wheel battles, where it is relatively straightforward for the team to lose positions when rivals activate their overtaking modes. Fred Vasseur stressed that this is a known limitation within the package, but also underlined that the car must be seen as a complete system, meaning that improvement is required across every area and not solely focused on the engine.
Fred Vasseur’s comments were not intended as pretence or psychological games, but rather as a realistic and transparent assessment of Ferrari’s current competitive position within the Formula 1 field. The updates introduced in Miami were clearly positive in certain areas of performance, but at the moment they are still not sufficient to fully counter the rate of development shown by rival teams. This is made even more challenging by the fact that Mercedes is expected to bring further upgrades in Montreal. Ferrari now has a short but important window of approximately three weeks to try to correct and optimize its package, as internally there is still a belief that the SF-26 is fundamentally stronger than what was demonstrated in the Miami Grand Prix weekend.
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