Ferrari is preparing an aggressive development push immediately after Formula 1’s summer break, with a third major SF-26 aerodynamic package expected at Zandvoort before the planned ADUO 2 power unit upgrade at Monza. The Maranello team estimates that the latter development could deliver around 15 horsepower, potentially worth approximately two tenths of a second at the Italian Grand Prix.
Work has continued at Maranello despite the pause in track action, with Ferrari trying to extract as much performance as possible from both developments. The Dutch Grand Prix package is expected to centre on another important evolution of the floor, while the Monza step should include modifications to the turbocharger. Crucially, neither development appears to represent the end of the SF-26 programme, with a fourth major aerodynamic package also in preparation.
Ferrari builds on two major SF-26 upgrade packages
The Scuderia has followed a solid development programme so far in 2026. Two significant packages have already appeared at Miami and Barcelona, while the ADUO 1 development included an improved Shell fuel that provided approximately seven additional horsepower.
Aerodynamic refinement and a more aggressive hybrid map have also contributed to the SF-26 becoming competitive at circuits where Ferrari had initially been considered an outsider for victory. The wins in Spain and Great Britain included an element of fortune, but the underlying pace shown by the car was nevertheless significant.
Ferrari is therefore approaching the second half of the season with an ambitious development strategy rather than slowing its work. That philosophy is consistent with the team’s decision to follow a race-by-race SF-26 development programme, introducing improvements whenever they are ready rather than waiting exclusively for larger packages. The existence and relevance of that ScuderiaFans development page have been verified.
Why Ferrari believes the SF-26 still has substantial development potential
The SF-26 is considered a fundamentally well-conceived car. At the start of the year, Loïc Serra opted for a simpler baseline specification, which allowed Ferrari to preserve more of its available development budget for use during the season.
A major advantage has been the absence of fundamental structural problems requiring large amounts of money and resources to correct. Instead, the team has been able to concentrate on extracting additional performance from an already sound platform.
Ferrari is also looking towards 2027, with the main concepts for its future project already established. In the meantime, the two major 2026 upgrade packages have been supplemented by smaller improvements at almost every round, allowing the engineers to refine performance and adapt the car more effectively to the demands of individual circuits.
That approach has kept development moving throughout the championship, while Charles Leclerc has also stressed the importance of remaining aggressive in the upgrade race. The related Ferrari development story involving Charles Leclerc remains available on ScuderiaFans.
New Ferrari floor expected for Zandvoort
The third major package is scheduled to arrive at Zandvoort. According to AutoRacer.it, one of its most important elements will be an evolution of the floor first introduced in Spain and subsequently refined through smaller changes.
That floor represented the beginning of a new development baseline for the SF-26. Ferrari’s aerodynamic department has continued working around that concept in an attempt to generate more downforce while also broadening the car’s operating window.
The Zandvoort specification should now represent the next significant stage of that work. Ferrari’s planned new floor and ADUO 2 development programme has already identified the Dutch and Italian Grands Prix as the first two major technical targets after the summer break.
Zandvoort will therefore provide the first opportunity to assess how effectively the revised floor expands the potential of the current aerodynamic platform. The event will also begin an important post-break sequence for Ferrari, with the 2026 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort immediately preceding the Italian team’s crucial Monza weekend.
Ferrari expects around 15 horsepower from ADUO 2 at Monza
At Monza, attention will shift from the latest aerodynamic package towards Ferrari’s low-downforce configuration and its efforts to minimise drag on one of Formula 1’s most demanding circuits for straight-line efficiency.
The Scuderia is pushing hard to introduce ADUO 2 at its home Grand Prix. The development is expected to include turbocharger modifications and is estimated to provide approximately 15 additional horsepower.
On the Monza circuit, that gain is estimated to be worth around 0.2 seconds per lap, with a slightly smaller benefit expected at Baku.
The objective is to improve efficiency by controlling airflow rate and pressure more precisely at high engine speeds. This should reduce losses and allow the power unit to maintain its output more effectively towards the upper end of the power delivery range, translating into a particular advantage during long periods at full throttle.
Ferrari has also been conducting extensive work ahead of the planned introduction, with reliability testing of the Monza engine upgrade forming an important part of preparations before ADUO 2 is brought to the circuit.
ADUO 2 will not be Ferrari’s major power unit revolution
Despite the expected performance increase, ADUO 2 will not represent a fundamental change of concept. Instead, it is the completion of detailed work that Ferrari has been carrying out according to a programme established well in advance for the 2026 campaign.
The more substantial change to the architecture of the Ferrari power unit is planned for 2027. For the current season, the priority remains extracting progressively more potential from the existing package rather than transforming its fundamental principles.
A fourth Ferrari aerodynamic package is already in development
The Monza engine development will not mark the end of Ferrari’s wider technical programme. A fourth aerodynamic package is already being worked on, with its arrival expected during the winter.
That underlines the confidence within Maranello that the present platform can continue evolving without a radical redesign. The team believes there is still substantial performance to extract from the SF-26 while preserving the foundations that have allowed it to compete effectively during the first half of the championship.
Ferrari’s immediate sequence is therefore clear: another aerodynamic step at Zandvoort, the hoped-for ADUO 2 power unit improvement at Monza and further development beyond those two packages. The larger power unit architecture change is reserved for 2027, but until then the Scuderia intends to keep pushing the current SF-26 concept rather than treating the third upgrade package as its final move.
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