Ferrari’s wet-weather struggles in 2026: Why the SF-26 is improving despite Brazilian GP setback

Ferrari’s difficult 2026 São Paulo Grand Prix once again exposed the team’s struggles in mixed weather conditions, with Lewis Hamilton being lapped and Charles Leclerc finishing eighth, more than a minute behind the winner. However, a closer examination of the Brazilian GP suggests that the SF-26 has made some encouraging progress in wet-weather performance, even if the overall result failed to reflect it.

Immediately after the race, Charles Leclerc attributed Ferrari’s disappointing performance to its longstanding difficulties in the rain. Yet the situation was more complicated than that assessment suggested. Starting positions, traffic, strategic mistakes and a lack of competitiveness even on a dry track all contributed to Ferrari’s problems at Interlagos. When the team switched to intermediate tyres, however, the SF-26 showed that its wet-weather performance was not necessarily as poor as the final classification indicated.

Ferrari’s Brazilian GP struggles: What the intermediate tyre data reveals

During the opening stages in São Paulo, Lewis Hamilton quickly encountered difficulties on intermediate tyres, losing positions after an excellent start. One of the main reasons behind the sudden deterioration in his SF-26’s performance was Ferrari’s decision to run higher tyre pressures. The team had adopted this approach to bring the tyres up to their operating temperature more quickly, but the compromise eventually resulted in excessive degradation.

The consequences of that decision became particularly evident as the opening stint progressed, with Ferrari paying a significant price for its tyre-management approach. The impact of Ferrari’s higher tyre pressures at Interlagos was one of several factors that complicated the team’s Brazilian Grand Prix.

Charles Leclerc also struggled to make substantial progress through the field. After the opening lap, the Monegasque driver gained just three positions over the following 15 laps before switching to slick tyres, with one of those places coming at the expense of his Ferrari teammate.

Assessing Ferrari’s genuine race pace during this phase is difficult because traffic prevented the SF-26 from running consistently in clean air. The Maranello car struggled to overtake, partly because of its limited straight-line speed. Race control also did not enable overtaking mode until lap 23, further complicating attempts to move through the field.

Nevertheless, Max Verstappen managed to complete several overtakes during the same period, suggesting that neither Ferrari nor its drivers had sufficient pace to overcome the difficulties. The team’s limitations were therefore not exclusively related to traffic or the lack of overtaking opportunities.

Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton show encouraging pace on intermediates

The picture changed when Ferrari returned to intermediate tyres during the closing stages of the race. Charles Leclerc immediately demonstrated competitive pace, recording some of the fastest lap times on the circuit before encountering Liam Lawson. Although the sample was limited to only a few laps, the performance suggested that the SF-26 was capable of operating effectively in wet conditions.

Lewis Hamilton also produced encouraging lap times on the intermediate compound. Because the seven-time world champion had already been lapped, his figures must be compared with those of the other drivers using a one-lap offset to account for the changing track conditions.

Even with that adjustment, Lewis Hamilton maintained a respectable pace, not far from Max Verstappen’s, despite having little left to fight for at that stage of the race.

The following lap-time comparison illustrates Ferrari’s performance against McLaren, Red Bull and Mercedes during the final stages of the São Paulo Grand Prix.

2026 São Paulo Grand Prix: Intermediate tyre lap-time comparison

Lewis Hamilton’s lap times are shifted by one lap to allow a more representative comparison of track conditions. LAW and LAWSON indicate laps affected by Liam Lawson.

The figures underline the importance of separating Ferrari’s outright wet-weather pace from the circumstances that shaped its race. Charles Leclerc was the quickest of the five drivers on laps 64 and 65, while Lewis Hamilton recorded the fastest comparable time on lap 66.

These isolated performances do not establish that Ferrari possessed the strongest car in the rain. However, they provide evidence that the SF-26 was more competitive on intermediate tyres than its disappointing finishing positions might suggest. The differences can also be explored through the F1 race pace and lap-time comparison.

Ferrari’s earlier wet-weather performances in Singapore and Malaysia

The Brazilian Grand Prix was not the first occasion in 2026 when Ferrari showed flashes of improved competitiveness in the rain. Looking back at the other two wet-weather events this season reveals a similar pattern: the SF-26 was not consistently among the strongest cars, but its pace was far from disastrous.

During the Singapore Sprint, Lewis Hamilton managed to match Max Verstappen’s pace for five laps after the Safety Car periods. The Red Bull driver then gained three seconds over the following four laps, but Lewis Hamilton recovered two seconds during the final five laps.

Charles Leclerc, meanwhile, encountered significant difficulties with his front tyres. Ferrari had selected a setup that produced excessive understeer in an attempt to compensate for the SF-26’s weaknesses in traction. The compromise ultimately made the car particularly difficult for the Monegasque driver to manage.

Just one week earlier, Ferrari had also shown encouraging signs during the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang.

Charles Leclerc was called into the pits after only three laps to switch to intermediate tyres. This gave him a tyre-age advantage over the leading drivers, who had been using the same compound since the start of the race.

Even accounting for that advantage, Charles Leclerc was the second-fastest driver on the circuit over the following four laps before the Safety Car intervention, behind only Max Verstappen. This was particularly noteworthy because the Ferrari driver also completed several overtakes during that period.

As in Singapore and São Paulo, the comparison covered only a handful of laps. Nevertheless, the evidence from all three events points towards a Ferrari that is performing better on intermediate tyres than in previous seasons, at least during the opening laps of a stint.

Historically, one of Ferrari’s biggest wet-weather problems had been bringing its tyres into the correct operating window. In 2026, that particular weakness appears less pronounced, with the SF-26 generally managing to generate tyre temperature more effectively.

2026 Malaysian Grand Prix: Intermediate tyre lap-time comparison

* Lap affected by traffic or overtaking. Tyre ages are shown as indicated in the comparison.

The Malaysian data offers another indication of Ferrari’s improved ability to extract performance from intermediate tyres. Charles Leclerc’s lap times were competitive with those of the leading drivers, although his fresher tyres must be considered when assessing the comparison.

Ferrari drivers acknowledge improvements in the SF-26’s wet-weather handling

Further encouragement came from the comments made by Ferrari’s drivers after wet qualifying in São Paulo. Despite the team’s difficulties, both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton identified positive aspects of the SF-26’s behaviour in the rain.

Speaking to Sky Sport F1, Charles Leclerc explained: “We tried a lot of things and at certain moments in qualifying, in conditions where we usually have no feeling with this car, the feeling was very good.”

Lewis Hamilton also offered a positive assessment of the car’s handling: “It was fun driving in the rain and the car felt good, especially in Q1.”

Those observations are significant because they suggest that Ferrari’s progress is not limited to isolated lap-time figures. The drivers themselves experienced moments when the SF-26 offered greater confidence and more predictable handling in conditions that have traditionally exposed the team’s weaknesses.

However, these improvements have not yet translated into consistent competitiveness across an entire wet-weather weekend. Ferrari’s broader performance problems at the Brazilian Grand Prix demonstrated that the team still faces significant challenges beyond its ability to generate grip on intermediate tyres.

Why Ferrari still struggles in the rain despite making progress

Overall, Ferrari remains some distance from being considered genuinely comfortable in wet conditions, even if the SF-26 is showing modest improvements compared with its predecessors.

Crucially, wet-weather competitiveness depends on much more than the fundamental characteristics of the car. Setup decisions play an important role, particularly tyre pressures, which influence the balance between available grip and the speed at which the tyres reach their operating temperature.

Ferrari’s Brazilian Grand Prix illustrated the difficulty of finding that balance. Higher pressures helped address the need for rapid warm-up, but the resulting degradation compromised the car’s performance over a longer stint. The team must therefore find a more effective compromise between immediate tyre performance and sustained competitiveness.

Strategic decisions also remain essential, especially during races featuring changing weather conditions. Choosing the correct moment to switch between intermediates and slick tyres can determine whether a driver benefits from the available grip or loses valuable time on an unsuitable compound.

Another important factor is Ferrari’s pace on dry-weather tyres when track temperatures are low. Even if the SF-26 becomes more competitive on intermediates, those improvements alone will not be enough if the car continues to struggle when the circuit begins to dry.

The Brazilian Grand Prix therefore highlighted both Ferrari’s remaining weaknesses and the progress that might otherwise have gone unnoticed. The SF-26 has shown that it can produce competitive lap times in the rain, but those flashes of performance have yet to become a reliable advantage.

For Ferrari to return to winning races in wet conditions, the team will need to combine its improved tyre warm-up characteristics with better setup choices, more consistent race pace and sharper strategic execution. The encouraging signs seen during the 2026 season provide a starting point, but turning them into results remains the real challenge for Maranello.