Ferrari endured a difficult Friday at Interlagos, with the SF-26 struggling for grip and losing significant time to Mercedes on the straights during practice for the 2026 Brazilian Grand Prix. Charles Leclerc admitted that substantial setup changes would be needed, while Lewis Hamilton also faces the possibility of a power unit-related grid penalty. With McLaren, Mercedes and Red Bull showing stronger race pace, Ferrari has considerable ground to recover before qualifying.
After an eventful week dominated by celebrations of Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s Formula 1 world title and Lewis Hamilton’s public comments, attention has finally returned to the circuit. Friday’s sessions were defined by Lando Norris and McLaren’s competitiveness alongside Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Mercedes, with Max Verstappen also in contention and Ferrari chasing the leading teams.
Changing track conditions offered an early indication of what could await the drivers later in the weekend. During FP2, air temperatures dropped below 20°C, while the asphalt temperature fell to 35°C, more than ten degrees lower than in the early afternoon. Mercedes and Andrea Kimi Antonelli found an excellent balance, but McLaren responded with two outstanding race-pace simulations. After a challenging opening day on several fronts, how much potential does Ferrari still have to unlock?
Ferrari SF-26 struggles with grip and power at Interlagos
With the internal dispute between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc put aside, at least until Sunday, Ferrari failed to impress during Friday’s running in Brazil. Across both practice sessions, the SF-26 struggled to demonstrate its potential through the middle sector of Interlagos, where a lack of grip was particularly evident.
The two-tenths deficit to Lando Norris in the morning became three tenths in the afternoon comparison with Andrea Kimi Antonelli. Drivers who performed strongly in the second sector enjoyed a tangible advantage, although the reasons behind those differences are more complex than the usual characteristics associated with Interlagos might suggest.
Unlike the conventional analysis of the Brazilian circuit, the 2026 cars make power unit performance particularly important in this part of the lap. Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc collectively lose more than two tenths through the sections approaching Turns 6, 10 and 12.
Ferrari telemetry reveals where Mercedes gains its advantage
The telemetry indicates that both Ferrari drivers spend more time with the throttle fully open, yet use less power in an attempt to limit superclipping. This energy-management limitation is a significant part of Ferrari’s performance deficit.
Superclipping occurs when the power unit reduces electrical deployment at high speed to manage its available energy, potentially limiting acceleration even while the driver remains on full throttle.
Mercedes’ superior power unit allows a more aggressive energy recovery system strategy while still maintaining an advantage on the main straights. The entire gap between the Ferrari drivers and Andrea Kimi Antonelli emerges at speeds above 250 km/h. For Charles Leclerc, an engine anomaly on the final straight cost him several additional tenths.
These differences are particularly relevant to the wider discussion surrounding Ferrari’s long-standing power unit deficit and the decisions behind its development. The recorded speeds can also be explored through the F1 Top Speed Comparison, although maximum speed alone does not establish the precise size of an engine performance disadvantage.
Nevertheless, Ferrari’s most obvious weakness throughout Friday remained its lack of grip. Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc produced comparable performances through the cornering sections, but achieved their lap times in different parts of the circuit. That contrast provides another indication that the SF-26 was not operating with a fully optimised setup.
Charles Leclerc calls for major Ferrari setup changes after difficult Friday
Ferrari’s lack of competitiveness is the natural consequence of these two problems: insufficient grip and a power unit deficit. Reducing the latter will depend on the transition from the existing power units to the ADUO2 specification, but meaningful improvements to the car’s setup will also be required if Ferrari is to challenge for the leading positions.
Charles Leclerc was particularly critical of the SF-26’s behaviour after the second practice session.
“It’s one of the worst feelings I’ve had in the car this year, so there’s a lot to work on. I have some ideas about it, and we’ll change the car quite significantly,” the Monegasque driver explained at the end of the day.
The long-run simulations reinforced the scale of Ferrari’s challenge. McLaren, Mercedes and Red Bull all demonstrated stronger race pace, leaving the Maranello team struggling to match the leading contenders.
Weather conditions could become decisive over the remainder of the weekend. Forecasts currently point towards rain on both Saturday and Sunday, making the difficulty of bringing the tyres into their ideal operating temperature range particularly concerning.
Ferrari already struggled to generate sufficient tyre temperature on Friday. If those problems continue on a wet circuit, the consequences could be especially damaging. The team’s preparation and setup work will therefore be crucial, with the hope that the SF-26 has more performance available than Friday’s running suggested.
Another complication concerns Lewis Hamilton’s potential power unit-related grid penalty. Ferrari’s decision is expected to become clear only shortly before FP3, adding another element of uncertainty to an already challenging Brazilian Grand Prix weekend.
Mercedes and McLaren lead the battle as Max Verstappen remains a threat
While Ferrari searches for solutions, Mercedes and McLaren appear closely matched at the front, with Max Verstappen and Red Bull also firmly in contention.
Lando Norris was encouraged by McLaren’s progress, explaining that he had only part of the team’s upgrade package fitted on Friday.
“Even though I only had part of the package, tomorrow we’ll put everything together, and it looks like the upgrades have delivered the results we were hoping for,” the British driver explained.
Oscar Piastri also performed well and found a competitive balance, suggesting that the Brazilian circuit could suit the McLaren driver in car number 81. The comparison between Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Lando Norris illustrated the current balance of performance between the Mercedes W17 and the McLaren MCL40, which has received several new components for this weekend.
How Mercedes and McLaren gain time in different parts of Interlagos
Electrical energy management favours McLaren during the opening part of the lap, before the advantage shifts decisively towards Mercedes, particularly along the final straight.
Despite McLaren’s efforts to improve the aerodynamic efficiency of the MCL40 through its latest developments, Mercedes retains the advantage in this area. On the other hand, the updates introduced at Sepang have provided Andrea Kimi Antonelli with a stronger car through the corners. His approach to Turn 9 was especially effective, allowing the newly crowned world champion to carry more speed into the corner than his rivals.
By exploiting the wide radius of the left-hander, the Mercedes driver was able to minimise the loss of speed on corner exit. This contributed to a particularly competitive lap and underlined the improvements in the W17’s cornering performance.
Brazilian GP race pace: Ferrari around half a second behind the leaders
The race simulations offered further evidence of a closely contested battle between Mercedes, McLaren and Red Bull. Different tyre compounds influenced the outright lap times, but the three teams remained competitive once those differences were taken into account.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Max Verstappen and Lando Norris recorded comparable lap times while running soft, medium and hard tyres respectively. Their performances suggest that all three remain serious contenders, even though Red Bull adopted a relatively conservative approach during its single-lap running.
George Russell, meanwhile, experienced a deficit similar to the one seen during the qualifying-style simulations. The Mercedes driver has continued to struggle for standout performances during an extremely difficult season and will also have to serve a further five-place grid penalty.
Ferrari’s difficulties were confirmed by the long-run figures. Under comparable conditions, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were approximately half a second away from the leading benchmarks. The differences between the teams’ practice performances can be examined in greater detail using the F1 Practice and Long-Run Analysis, which allows comparisons of lap times and stint performance.
For Ferrari, the immediate priorities are clear: recover grip, improve the SF-26’s operating window and minimise the consequences of its power unit limitations. The possibility of rain and a potential grid penalty for Lewis Hamilton only increases the difficulty of the task.
Friday’s performance left the Scuderia behind the leading contenders, but Charles Leclerc’s planned setup changes could reveal whether the car has more potential to offer. With Mercedes, McLaren and Red Bull already showing competitive pace, Ferrari faces a demanding challenge to move closer to the front at Interlagos.
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