Ferrari ended the second free practice session for the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix with a better-balanced SF-26, but the stopwatch continued to expose the limitations preventing the car from extracting enough performance in Baku. The Soft tyres improved the overall handling of both cars, yet the narrow setup window, the power unit deficit and a hybrid deployment strategy that is still not fully optimised continue to force the Maranello team into difficult compromises.
Round 15 of the 2026 Formula 1 season is therefore confirming some of the weaknesses that have characterised the SF-26 in the second half of the campaign. Ferrari can build lap time through cornering speed when the car is inside its preferred operating window, but there is no sufficiently strong aerodynamic advantage to compensate for the time lost under traction and through Baku’s shorter acceleration sections.
Ferrari’s power unit remains a limitation in Baku FP2
Compared with the opening practice session, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton wasted no time at the start of FP2 and immediately headed onto the Baku City Circuit. Both Ferraris began the session on Pirelli’s yellow-walled Medium tyres as the team evaluated the setup changes made between FP1 and FP2. The fuel load was sufficient to complete several different tests, while the power unit was also being operated at higher engine speeds.
In general, the SF-26 appeared to retain much of the same handling behaviour seen during the morning session. What did change was the battery’s charging and discharging pattern, although the resulting energy deployment did not appear any more effective. At this stage, it remains unclear whether Ferrari was deliberately evaluating different maps or whether the changes were simply connected to running at a higher power level.
The issue is particularly significant around Baku because energy use and straight-line performance are central to the demands of the circuit. Ferrari was already facing an important Baku energy-management and straight-mode test, and FP2 once again highlighted how carefully the team must distribute its available electrical energy around the lap.
Oversteer remained present, although it did not appear to cause the same level of difficulty as it had during FP1. The picture is still difficult to interpret fully, but one element was considerably clearer: Ferrari continues to carry an evident power unit deficit that cannot simply be corrected through setup adjustments. That was arguably the most significant limitation to emerge during the first part of the session. After approximately 20 minutes, a red flag interrupted the running and sent the entire field back to the garages.
Ferrari SF-26 balance improves on the Soft tyres
For the second run, Ferrari finally fitted the Soft compound, which the team had completely avoided during the opening practice session. During the out-lap, there was an obvious need to work the front axle hard and generate as much tyre temperature as possible. The tyres tend to cool considerably along Baku’s extended high-speed sections, making preparation particularly important before the push lap.
With the additional grip provided by the red-walled compound, the balance of the two SF-26 cars improved noticeably. More grip naturally helps any car, but the Soft tyre in particular appeared to suit Ferrari reasonably well. The improvement did not, however, eliminate all of the car’s underlying weaknesses.
The first remaining problem concerned excessive rotation. Although the behaviour appeared more controlled than earlier in the day, it continued to restrict traction through several corners. The effect was most visible in the third sector, particularly around Turns 14 and 15. Ferrari must therefore understand whether the tendency can be reduced further through setup work or whether it is an unavoidable part of the compromise created by the configuration chosen for Baku.
That question fits into the broader challenge Ferrari has faced in trying to find the SF-26’s ideal operating point, an area that has already contributed to the team’s difficult technical outlook for the Baku weekend. The narrowness of the car’s setup window means that solving one weakness can easily create another elsewhere around the lap.
A second element, partly connected to the first, concerns driver confidence. There are several areas of the Baku City Circuit where confidence behind the wheel is essential, and Ferrari did not yet appear to have explored the full potential available in that respect. Another step is therefore required to optimise the overall performance. The wider technical development of the car and its behaviour throughout the season can also be followed through the Ferrari technical analysis section.
At the end of the second run, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were called back into the pit lane. After a brief visit to the garage and a review of the telemetry, both returned to the circuit for the final stint and the last significant data-gathering phase of Thursday’s track action in Baku.
Narrow setup window exposes Ferrari’s main SF-26 compromise
Ferrari again used the Soft tyres for the final run, although this time they were not fresh sets. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton reused the same tyres from the previous run and completed roughly four to five laps in race-pace simulation. There is little value in drawing strong conclusions from those runs at this stage because conditions and configurations can still change considerably, although the developing trends can be explored through the F1 Practice & Long-Run Analysis as the weekend progresses.
By the end of FP2, however, a clearer technical picture had emerged. The SF-26 appears reasonably balanced, but an examination of the lap times indicates that Ferrari has a narrower setup window than its direct rivals. In practical terms, this has become one of the car’s most important intrinsic limitations during the second half of the 2026 season.
Ferrari is attempting to build lap time by maximising cornering speeds, but the car cannot recover enough of the deficit accumulated through Baku’s shorter acceleration zones. This leaves the team searching for performance without having a particular sector or category of corner in which the SF-26 can establish a sufficiently clear advantage to compensate for what it loses elsewhere.
Hybrid management adds another layer to the compromise. Ferrari’s deployment choices appear relatively conservative, with the team prioritising enough electrical energy to protect top speed along Baku’s longest straights and avoid becoming vulnerable to rivals in those sections. The downside is that this particular delivery strategy leaves the SF-26 more exposed through the shorter acceleration zones, where rival cars are able to exploit stronger traction.
This balance between preserving maximum speed on the long straights and releasing energy through the shorter sections is one of the crucial performance decisions Ferrari must manage. The straight-line differences across the field can be examined through the F1 Top Speed Comparison.
Without a sector or specific corner type in which the SF-26 can consistently establish clear superiority, Ferrari’s search for additional lap time becomes an extremely complicated compromise. FP2 showed that the car can reach a respectable balance when grip conditions help it, particularly on the Soft compound, but balance alone is not enough. The challenge for Ferrari is now to widen the SF-26’s usable performance window and find a more effective compromise between traction, energy deployment and straight-line speed before the decisive sessions in Baku.
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