Ferrari has no intention of freezing development of the SF-26 as the 2026 Formula 1 season enters its final phase. Maranello plans to continue refining the current car because much of the work can feed directly into its 2027 project, although the most important challenge remains the power unit.
With the championship approaching its decisive stages, the major outcomes already appear to be taking shape barring a dramatic reversal. Andrea Kimi Antonelli is firmly on course for the Drivers’ Championship, while Mercedes is closing in on the Constructors’ crown, putting the three-pointed star back at the top after the difficulties it encountered with the introduction of the ground-effect generation of Formula 1 cars.
While part of the grid has already shifted the centre of its development work towards 2027, however, not every team has chosen to freeze its current car. Honda, for example, has already directed a significant part of its efforts towards next season, working with Aston Martin to correct a situation that few would probably have expected to become so difficult before the start of 2026.
Ferrari has chosen a different path. Maranello will continue developing the SF-26, even though the momentum that appeared to have lifted the car to a higher competitive level has gradually faded over the most recent Grands Prix. The victories achieved by Mercedes and McLaren after Silverstone interrupted a period of progress during which Ferrari had, at times, appeared capable of moving much closer to the leading teams.
In some circumstances, the SF-26 has instead slipped back to being as low as the fourth-fastest car, despite the introduction of the ADUO-2 power unit. That makes Ferrari’s decision to continue its SF-26 development programme with 2027 in mind even more significant, because it shows that Maranello does not consider the work on its 2026 car finished.
The changing competitive picture can also be followed through the Ferrari vs F1 Rivals statistics, which track Ferrari’s performance against Mercedes, McLaren and its other Formula 1 competitors.
After the Madrid Grand Prix, which ended with Lewis Hamilton retiring because of a brake problem and Charles Leclerc finishing fourth, Fred Vasseur made Ferrari’s position clear: “Abandon development of the SF-26? No, because we’re no longer in the same situation as 12 months ago. Today, everything we develop can still be integrated into the car for next season’s project. So we will continue to work on different areas and test different things, especially because under these regulations we will be able to carry 80% of the developments onto next year’s car.”
Madrid itself also provided useful technical information for Ferrari. The SF-26’s mechanical compromise was particularly visible around the new circuit, where the team’s stiff suspension setup exposed both strengths and weaknesses at Madring.
The SF-26 becomes Ferrari’s test bed for 2027
Fred Vasseur’s comments are more than simply an immediate response to questions about the future of the SF-26. They outline Ferrari’s broader development strategy. In 2027, Formula 1 will enter the second season of the current regulatory cycle, which is set to continue until 2030, with the FIA already planning adjustments particularly in terms of aerodynamics and overall downforce levels.
This will therefore not represent another fundamental change of philosophy. Smaller regulatory adjustments will not erase the conceptual continuity between the 2026 and 2027 cars in terms of chassis, aerodynamics and, above all, power units. That is why the work Ferrari carries out today could become valuable material for next season’s project.
Ferrari has already demonstrated that it intends to keep gathering information rather than simply run out the remaining races. The team continued introducing SF-26 suspension and aerodynamic developments in Madrid, reinforcing the idea that the current car will remain an active development platform.
Continuing to improve the SF-26 therefore does not simply mean trying to secure another victory before the championship ends. It also means keeping Ferrari’s technical group working within a process of continuous refinement and testing solutions on track that may later be transferred to the next project.
Stopping development entirely would carry both a technical and methodological cost. It would mean easing off just as Mercedes and McLaren continue to demonstrate how quickly the competitive order can change when development produces results.
Ferrari has no intention of treating its season as finished. Charles Leclerc wants to return to winning, while Lewis Hamilton also wants another victory and reiterated that ambition following his retirement in Madrid. The SF-26 development programme will therefore continue, although Ferrari’s approach is expected to differ from the major upgrade packages already introduced earlier in the year.
Ferrari plans continuous refinements rather than major SF-26 packages
There will not necessarily be another series of major interventions. Ferrari’s route is instead expected to focus on continuous refinements to the chassis and aerodynamics, using the remaining Grands Prix as an opportunity to understand which technical directions could retain value for 2027.
The SF-26 therefore remains a car that Ferrari still needs to improve, but at the same time it has become an experimental platform on which the next generation can be built. The broader evolution of the package and the team’s latest engineering solutions can be followed through ScuderiaFans’ Ferrari technical analysis.
That continuity is important because Ferrari does not have to choose exclusively between improving its 2026 performance and preparing for next season. If Fred Vasseur’s estimate that around 80% of the development work can be carried forward proves accurate, the two programmes can overlap to a significant degree.
Each useful test on the current car can therefore serve two purposes: extracting more performance during the final part of this championship and improving Ferrari’s understanding of the technical platform on which its 2027 challenger will be based.
Ferrari’s biggest 2027 challenge remains the power unit
The most important battle, however, is taking place away from the spotlight of the circuit. Ferrari’s power-unit department is where the largest step will have to be made if Maranello wants to enter 2027 with genuinely different ambitions.
The SF-26 has shown on several occasions that its chassis and aerodynamic foundations are far from mediocre. During several phases of the season, the greater problem has appeared to be the performance of Ferrari’s power unit compared with Mercedes. More recently, McLaren has also improved sufficiently to move ahead of Ferrari not only in aerodynamic management but also in the overall performance of its package.
It is a familiar problem appearing in a new form. When efficiency is lacking from the power unit, the rest of the car can compensate only up to a certain point. Ferrari can work on downforce, drag, the aerodynamic platform and tyre management, but if the power unit cannot provide the required level of effectiveness, part of the car’s potential inevitably remains inaccessible.
The introduction of ADUO-2 has already represented an important stage in Ferrari’s development during 2026. The latest engine situation can be seen in the team’s plans surrounding Charles Leclerc’s ADUO-2 power-unit rotation following the Italian and Spanish Grands Prix.
For that reason, the work being carried out by Enrico Gualtieri’s staff on Ferrari’s 2027 power unit probably represents the real turning point of the entire project. Maranello is working on an update that, according to the information currently available, could be considerably more substantial than a straightforward evolution of the existing unit.
That is where Ferrari will have to demonstrate that it has understood the limitations encountered during the first year of Formula 1’s new regulations. Improvements to the chassis and aerodynamics can help close the gap, but the power unit remains fundamental to how effectively those gains can be converted into overall lap time.
Ferrari’s 2027 car will not start from a blank sheet
The Ferrari that reaches the 2027 season will therefore not be created from a blank sheet of paper. It will be the product of continuity between what Maranello is learning from the SF-26 today and the work taking place simultaneously within its technical departments.
The current car will continue to be refined until the end of the season, while behind the scenes the chassis, aerodynamic package and power unit will gradually be brought together as part of Ferrari’s next Formula 1 project.
It is a logical strategy, but it also leaves little room for excuses. If 2027 is to represent Ferrari’s genuine step forward, the work being carried out today will eventually have to translate into measurable performance on track.
Above all, Ferrari needs the improvement on the power-unit side that could determine more than any other factor whether Maranello remains in pursuit of its rivals or can finally return to fighting seriously for the Formula 1 World Championship.
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