Ferrari: new power unit not expected before four Grands Prix, unity within the team is required
It has become increasingly clear over the course of the season that Ferrari is struggling with the hybrid system of its current Formula 1 power unit, particularly over a single qualifying lap, when energy recovery and deployment reach their most critical and extreme operating window. In this phase, every millisecond of energy harvesting and release becomes crucial, and even small inefficiencies are magnified significantly in lap time.
Work can certainly be carried out on the software side of the system, including energy deployment maps, recovery strategies, and calibration of hybrid delivery, but it must be clearly stressed that while software optimisation can improve efficiency and smoothness of energy usage, it cannot increase the total energy available within a lap. In other words, it can redistribute performance, but it cannot fundamentally create additional horsepower. It can make a measurable difference in specific phases of the lap, but it cannot eliminate a structural deficit.
The Italian team has been working on this area for a considerable amount of time, focusing on fine-tuning the hybrid management of the power unit developed under the direction of Enrico Gualtieri. However, the underlying performance deficit of the power unit still leaves very little room for recovery in pure competitive terms. This is where the ADUO concept becomes relevant, a technical derogation that is expected to be granted to Ferrari by the FIA. This regulatory allowance represents a key opportunity that must be exploited to its maximum potential in order to reduce the engine performance gap and allow Ferrari to fight on more equal terms with rival manufacturers Mercedes and Red Bull Ford.
If properly implemented, this adjustment could lead to a completely different competitive scenario compared to what has been observed so far during the season, where Ferrari has often been forced to compensate with aerodynamic efficiency and chassis balance rather than pure power unit performance.
Ferrari has already received preliminary approval from the governing body, although official confirmation is still expected within approximately one month. In the meantime, the department led by Enrico Gualtieri continues to work intensively on improving and correcting the Italian power unit, focusing on both reliability and performance extraction. The expectation within the Maranello structure is that around the middle of the season, or possibly even one race earlier depending on development progress, the Scuderia Ferrari should be able to introduce an updated specification of the power unit. Until then, the team must continue to manage the situation carefully and remain patient.
The SF-26 loses 20 km/h to Mercedes: too much
Looking at the telemetry data from the second qualifying session of the Miami Grand Prix weekend, the analysis does not differ significantly from what was already observed in previous sessions. However, it is still extremely useful to highlight the key elements in order to better understand the behaviour of the 2026 Formula 1 cars, which are now heavily dependent on the interaction between the two main phases of the energy storage system: harvesting and deployment.
The first clear and most obvious data point concerns Mercedes, in this case represented by car number 12, which effectively secured the team’s first pole position at the Miami International Autodrome in Florida. It is evident from the telemetry that the hybrid system of the German power unit is capable of deploying a very large amount of energy immediately on the exit of turn 4, with a particularly aggressive discharge phase in the acceleration zone leading towards turn 5, where Mercedes clearly gains performance compared to the rest of the field.
The most striking figure in the analysis is the speed advantage: Mercedes reaches up to 20 kilometers per hour more than Ferrari, and also significantly more than Max Verstappen’s Red Bull. This difference is substantial and highly visible in the data, and it can be explained in a relatively straightforward way when analysing the full lap structure.
Ferrari has more downforce than Mercedes and Red Bull, but the engine deficit is significant
The Mercedes car is able to push so aggressively in this phase because, in the high-speed section of the circuit from turn 8 to turn 11, it does not lose significant ground compared to its rivals. The gap in this sector is relatively small, around 3 kilometers per hour in terms of top-end efficiency and speed maintenance, which allows Mercedes to sustain a more aggressive hybrid deployment strategy earlier in the lap.
If we then examine another key section of the Miami circuit, specifically the long straight from turn 16 to turn 17, Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes W17 appears as the fastest car once again in terms of peak speed and energy deployment efficiency. In this part of the lap, Red Bull adopts a deployment strategy that is quite similar to the one used by Ferrari at the beginning of the lap, focusing more on controlled energy release rather than maximum attack mode.
The key difference, however, lies in Red Bull’s more efficient energy recovery system, which allows Max Verstappen to enter the final part of the lap with a higher amount of usable battery energy compared to Ferrari. This additional stored energy becomes crucial in the last acceleration phase of the lap.
This difference is clearly visible on the exit of turn 17, where Max Verstappen is able to carry approximately 8 kilometers per hour more than Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari SF-26. Red Bull also uses more energy than Ferrari even in the first sector, which further highlights the current difficulty faced by the Ferrari package when it comes to hybrid efficiency and deployment balance.
This situation unfortunately confirms that the Ferrari SF-26 is currently the most disadvantaged car on the grid when it comes to hybrid system performance. The only slightly positive note for Ferrari is that Charles Leclerc, particularly in the first sector, is forced to use significantly more throttle compared to his rivals.
This behaviour is directly linked to the strong aerodynamic downforce level of the SF-26, which allows earlier throttle application and longer acceleration phases out of slower corners. The traction characteristics are more linear and stable compared to both Red Bull and Mercedes, which gives Ferrari some advantages in specific medium-speed exits, even if it does not compensate for the power unit deficit on straights.
There are also specific sections of the lap where Mercedes applies a lift-and-coast strategy, meaning that the driver lifts off the throttle earlier and allows the car to coast into braking zones. In these scenarios, energy recovery is optimised, and it is important to note that even with engine braking alone, the internal combustion engine contributes very efficiently to the recharging phase of the hybrid system. This method allows Mercedes to recover energy more effectively than its rivals in certain parts of the lap, further strengthening its overall deployment advantage over a full qualifying run.
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