Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur is reportedly growing increasingly concerned that the Scuderia will be unable to resolve the fundamental performance limitation of the SF-26 power unit before a significant engine upgrade becomes available, which is not expected until the summer phase of the 2026 Formula 1 season.
After beginning the 2026 campaign as the closest challengers to Mercedes across the opening rounds, Ferrari’s early momentum has started to fade as rivals McLaren and Red Bull introduced substantial upgrade packages during the Miami Grand Prix weekend. These developments appear to have reshuffled the competitive order, placing Ferrari further behind the leading trio than initially anticipated.
Despite bringing the largest single upgrade package of any team to Miami, with 11 technical updates applied to the SF-26, Ferrari’s performance gains have not translated into a sustained competitive advantage. The Maranello-based outfit effectively introduced a heavily revised “B-spec” version of their car in an effort to close the gap to Mercedes, but internal assessments suggest that further structural improvements are still required.
Charles Leclerc shows pace flashes while Lewis Hamilton struggles to extract performance
During the Miami weekend, Charles Leclerc demonstrated moments of strong performance, particularly in the Sprint session where he secured fourth place in qualifying and went on to finish third in the short race. However, he crossed the line 6.251 seconds behind Sprint winner Lando Norris, highlighting the remaining performance gap to McLaren’s race pace.
In contrast, neither Charles Leclerc nor Lewis Hamilton were able to consistently challenge the front-running teams during the main Miami Grand Prix. While Ferrari’s SF-26 showed improved balance in certain cornering phases, it was not sufficient to compete at the same level as Mercedes or McLaren over a full race distance.
Fred Vasseur identifies Ferrari’s structural engine limitation
According to reports from the Italian media, the Maranello team’s engineers and technicians remain partially satisfied with the effectiveness of their latest upgrade package, which the team strongly believed would deliver a meaningful step forward ahead of the Miami Grand Prix. The SF-26 reportedly became more stable and better balanced in slow and medium-speed corners, areas where the original specification car had previously struggled.
However, the performance deficit observed in Miami, particularly against Mercedes and McLaren, has significantly impacted morale within the Ferrari camp. Fred Vasseur is now understood to believe that the team will not be able to eliminate what he considers a “structural” super-clipping limitation without the introduction of a new power unit specification.
The current Ferrari power unit configuration reportedly causes both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc to exhaust electrical energy deployment before the end of longer straights, triggering a super-clipping phase in which energy recovery becomes prioritized over sustained power delivery. This compromises straight-line performance and overall race efficiency, especially during high-speed sections of a Grand Prix.
Internal Ferrari analysis suggests that this limitation could prevent the team from competing for race victories until a revised engine package is introduced, underlining the severity of the issue within the SF-26 project.
Engine upgrade timeline depends on FIA ADUO system approval
Ferrari’s primary hope for addressing this deficit lies in a future power unit upgrade, but such an update cannot be deployed freely. The team must first await the FIA’s classification under the Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities (ADUO) framework, which regulates engine development allowances under the new 2026 Formula 1 power unit regulations.
The FIA is expected to confirm which manufacturers qualify for ADUO upgrade tokens shortly after the Canadian Grand Prix. There is growing speculation within the paddock that Ferrari may have deliberately underperformed certain engine metrics to secure additional development flexibility under this system, although these claims remain unconfirmed.
Even if Ferrari are granted ADUO status, the development and implementation of a new internal combustion engine specification is expected to take several months, meaning any meaningful performance gains may only arrive later in the season.
Under the ADUO framework, manufacturers whose internal combustion engines are between two and four percent behind the benchmark power unit are entitled to one upgrade allocation. If the deficit exceeds four percent, teams are granted two upgrade tokens, allowing for more substantial development interventions.
For Ferrari, this regulatory pathway represents the clearest opportunity to close the performance gap, but it also highlights the reality that Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc may have to manage the current limitations of the SF-26 for several more races before any major technical breakthrough arrives.
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