Ferrari goes all-in. In the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix, Ferrari introduces a major and extensive upgrade package on the red car: front wing and front suspension, bargeboard area updates, new floor specification, the so-called “Macarena” rear wing concept, and a revised diffuser design. It is a significant aerodynamic and mechanical step, expected to bring the team closer to the dominant Mercedes cars that have set a very strong benchmark in recent races.
There is only one hour and a half available to test the car in the single free practice session of the Miami Grand Prix weekend, which makes the workload extremely intense for Ferrari engineers and drivers. The team must validate all the upgrades, confirm correlation between simulator data and track performance, and ensure that the package delivers the expected gains under real track conditions, with limited time for long analysis runs.
Ferrari discovers the updated SF-26
Now let’s take a detailed look at howevents unfolded for Charles and Lewis in FP1.
Both Ferrari SF-26 cars waste no time at all and immediately head out on track as soon as the pit lane opens. Both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton begin their running on Hard compound Pirelli tyres. This tyre choice is particularly useful in the early stages because it provides a stable and consistent grip level, allowing both drivers to evaluate the car’s baseline behaviour without the additional variable of high degradation or peak grip fluctuations.
Judging the first run is far from easy, especially considering that Ferrari arrives in Miami after a full month without a race weekend and with such a large and complex upgrade package introduced at once. In these conditions, even small balance issues can appear exaggerated, so the drivers and engineers must carefully interpret every piece of feedback.
Without a doubt, the Italian car appears fairly stable in its early laps. Among the two Ferrari drivers, Lewis Hamilton seems to initially interpret the SF-26 slightly better in terms of rotation and initial traction. Both Maranello drivers complete a lap to cool the tyres before pushing again, and during this phase they receive instructions from the garage on specific areas where the handling can be improved.
On the second attempt, Charles Leclerc delivers a cleaner and more controlled lap, showing strong confidence in the front end of the car. In contrast, Lewis Hamilton nearly loses the rear of the SF-26 during acceleration in the third sector, highlighting that he is still adapting to the behaviour of the updated package, particularly in traction-limited corners.
At this early stage of FP1, the performance difference between the Monegasque and the Briton appears to be mainly concentrated in the first sector. However, it is also evident that Lewis Hamilton is struggling more in the technical middle sector, where the SF-26 tends to feel less stable under direction changes, leading to slight but continuous time loss. He also suffers a noticeable front lock-up that results in flat-spotting on the front tyres, which further complicates his long-run evaluation.
Among the various instructions coming from Ferrari engineers is the need to improve performance and stability through turns 11, 12, 14 and 17, which are key sections of the Miami circuit. Another interesting development is the continuous study of the hybrid system behaviour. Both Ferrari cars are testing different energy deployment strategies across the lap, particularly how to best use the energy recovered from the MGU-K system. It is not simple to optimise the delivery of electric power across such a stop-start street circuit, which is why multiple steering wheel adjustments are being used to gather detailed performance data.
Ferrari begins to understand the SF-26
After approximately 20 minutes of running on track, both Ferrari cars return to the pit lane. The first of the two to come in is Charles Leclerc, who completes a short but productive stint. During this stop, a minor adjustment is made to the front wing configuration to fine-tune aerodynamic balance. Shortly after, Lewis Hamilton also returns, although his programme differs slightly as his car is taken directly into the garage following a practice start procedure carried out on the pit lane apron.
Meanwhile, the 28-year-old uses the first adjusted configuration of the SF-26, now with slightly reduced front-end load after the front wing modification. This change appears to work positively, as the Monegasque driver immediately improves his lap time and gains confidence in the front axle response.
On the in-lap and surrounding runs, several constant-speed passages are performed, which are extremely important for data collection. These runs allow Ferrari to analyse how the updated aerodynamic package behaves across different speed ranges. During the pit stop phase, additional work is carried out on the suspension setup, with the aim of improving overall vehicle dynamics and increasing agility, particularly in low-speed corners where street circuits like Miami are most demanding.
It is important to note that the track surface is still quite “green”, meaning it has limited rubber laid down, and almost all drivers have reported a lack of grip. For the second runs, both Ferrari cars remain on the same Pirelli Hard tyres, allowing a direct comparison of the suspension and aerodynamic changes under identical conditions.
Lewis Hamilton leaves the pit lane first, followed a few minutes later by his Maranello teammate. In this second stint, it becomes increasingly clear that car number 44 driven by Lewis Hamilton is still somewhat inconsistent under acceleration, whereas Charles Leclerc continues to look more controlled, precise and naturally clean in his driving style. There is still clear work to do in the final part of the third sector, particularly through turns 17, 18 and 19. Turn 16 also remains a tricky braking and direction-change point as it leads onto the long straight.
Ferrari is quick in high-fuel runs
After a mid-session phase, still running on Hard tyres, Charles Leclerc manages to move to the top of the timesheets. Telemetry analysis shows that the SF-26 continues to lose time in high-speed sections compared to Mercedes, particularly in sustained aerodynamic load corners. In the final straight of sector three, the Ferrari loses around three tenths to the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli.
Lewis Hamilton also improves his lap time in this phase, although he still remains behind his teammate in overall performance. Both Ferrari drivers then return to the pits for adjustments and preparation for the next phase of the session.
After a short break of around 7 to 8 minutes, both Ferrari cars return once again to the track surface in Miami. A very interesting piece of information from the race engineer highlights that there is still aerodynamic margin to bring the front end closer to the reference platform, which would help generate additional downforce. For this high-fuel run as well, the tyre compound remains unchanged, with both cars still using the Hard tyres.
His race engineer communicate a target lap time of around 33.0 seconds on average, which serves as a reference for long-run consistency. In this phase, Charles Leclerc is able to maintain the target pace in the early laps, while Lewis Hamilton appears to struggle slightly more in extracting consistent performance.
Ferrari SF-26 cars remain relatively stable in long-run conditions, although small traction issues occasionally appear, forcing both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc to make minor corrections during corner exit phases.
When comparing race pace data with McLaren and Red Bull, Ferrari appears to have a slightly stronger overall long-run performance in this FP1 session. However, it is still difficult to make a direct comparison with Mercedes, as the programmes and fuel loads may differ significantly between teams.
Ferrari completes many laps in this phase, showing strong consistency and without suffering major tyre degradation cliffs, which is a positive early indication for race pace potential. After this, both cars are called back to the pits for the final part of the session.
Ferrari quick on the qualifying simulation
The final programme of FP1 continues with qualifying simulation runs. For this purpose, both Ferrari SF-26 cars switch to the soft Pirelli tyres with the red sidewall. After preparation laps, both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton begin their push laps.
The Monegasque does not complete a perfect lap, but it is still strong enough to temporarily secure the fastest time. Once again, he loses a bit of time in the third sector, where the Ferrari power unit appears slightly less competitive compared to the Mercedes unit in terms of peak deployment.
Lewis Hamilton also starts his flying lap well, but in the second sector he runs slightly wide, which compromises his overall performance. Like his teammate, he also loses time in the third sector and eventually ends up in third position behind Max Verstappen’s Red Bull.
Both Ferrari drivers then complete a double cool-down lap to reset and prepare for one final push attempt before the end of FP1, ahead of qualifying later in the weekend.
Charles Leclerc is not particularly strong in the third sector during this final run either, but he still manages to improve his benchmark time slightly. The Briton also improves his lap, but he remains more than four tenths behind his Ferrari teammate, highlighting that Leclerc currently has the upper hand in adaptation to the SF-26 upgrade package.
Overall, it is a very positive start for Ferrari in Miami, even though both Mercedes cars have experienced some setup-related difficulties during FP1. Attention must also be paid to McLaren and a very competitive Max Verstappen, who both appear very much in contention.
At this stage, the true competitive order remains difficult to fully understand. It is well known that in qualifying conditions the Mercedes power unit can make a significant difference. It will be important to see whether FIA adjustments to hybrid usage rules, combined with Ferrari’s new upgrade package, have truly delivered the expected step forward for the SF-26. The next two and a half hours of track action and analysis will provide a much clearer picture.
Leave a Reply