Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has acknowledged that the Scuderia’s ADUO power unit upgrades will not be enough on their own to eliminate the straight-line speed deficit that has troubled the SF-26 throughout the 2026 Formula 1 season.
Top-speed performance has repeatedly emerged as a concern for the Maranello team, particularly in comparison with Mercedes. Lewis Hamilton again highlighted the issue during the recent Italian Grand Prix, despite Ferrari arriving at Monza with a fresh engine upgrade intended to deliver another incremental performance gain.
The problem is not simply a question of identifying where performance is missing. Vasseur has explained that improving a Formula 1 power unit involves significantly longer development and production times than modifying the chassis, leaving Ferrari without the possibility of producing an immediate technical response.
Fred Vasseur explains why Ferrari’s engine deficit needs time to fix
Vasseur described the engine development process as extremely lengthy, contrasting it with chassis development, where an aerodynamic or mechanical upgrade can potentially be designed and introduced much more quickly.
The Ferrari team principal explained that power unit components have substantial lead times, while financial restrictions also complicate the process. An engine manufacturer must produce enough units to cover its requirements across the season, meaning that introducing further development can require an entirely new production batch rather than simply fitting a rapidly manufactured update to the existing package.
That distinction is important for Ferrari as it attempts to address a weakness that has become particularly visible at circuits where power delivery and straight-line performance carry greater importance. The challenge will again come into focus in Azerbaijan, where the SF-26 faces a significant energy-management and straight-line test in Baku.
Ferrari says ADUO-1 and ADUO-2 cannot recover the full deficit
The FIA’s Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities system has provided Ferrari with an avenue to improve its power unit during the 2026 campaign. However, Vasseur has played down the prospect of either ADUO-1 or ADUO-2 being sufficient to bring the Scuderia completely level with the benchmark.
Instead, Ferrari views the process as a sequence of smaller improvements. Vasseur acknowledged that the team never expected to recover its entire disadvantage through the first or second ADUO intervention, with each development intended to move the power unit forward progressively rather than provide a single decisive solution.
Even relatively modest gains can nevertheless matter because Formula 1’s midfield and leading positions can be separated by extremely small margins. Vasseur pointed out that cars behind Ferrari have at times been only hundredths of a second away, meaning that even a gain of a couple of horsepower can influence where a driver ends up on the grid.
The distinction between improving position and eliminating the underlying deficit is therefore crucial. Additional power can make the SF-26 more competitive without necessarily putting Ferrari on equal terms with the strongest power unit package.
Ferrari’s straight-line weakness remains important after ADUO-2
Ferrari’s latest engine work has therefore not ended the wider discussion surrounding its 2026 performance. The Scuderia has continued to encounter limitations even after introducing ADUO-2, while the SF-26’s overall development direction remains under scrutiny as the season enters its next phase.
Baku could make that issue especially significant. The Azerbaijan street circuit places an unusual premium on performance along its lengthy full-throttle section, and Ferrari already faces questions over how effectively the SF-26 can deploy and manage its available energy. Those concerns form part of the wider difficult Baku outlook facing Ferrari after another challenging run of races.
For Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, even a small improvement could still prove valuable in qualifying. As Vasseur emphasised, a gain measured in only a few horsepower can become significant when several cars are covered by hundredths of a second, even if it does not fundamentally remove Ferrari’s power unit disadvantage.
Ferrari targets full recovery with its next engine
The longer-term objective extends beyond ADUO-1 and ADUO-2. Vasseur confirmed that Ferrari will have a new engine next year, with the team’s priority being to close the remaining gap as quickly as possible.
That makes the current development programme part of a broader technical challenge rather than a short-term attempt to transform the SF-26 through one upgrade. Ferrari must balance the immediate value of incremental horsepower gains against the considerably longer lead times required to make more substantial progress with its power unit.
The situation also illustrates why engine development cannot necessarily follow the same timetable as work elsewhere on the car. Ferrari can respond relatively quickly when an opportunity is identified on the chassis, whereas new power unit hardware has to move through a longer design, manufacturing and production process before it reaches the circuit.
For the remainder of 2026, the ADUO programme can therefore help Ferrari reduce its disadvantage step by step. It is not, however, expected to erase the entire deficit. With the SF-26 still chasing straight-line performance and the next challenge in Azerbaijan placing that weakness back under the spotlight, Vasseur’s assessment makes clear that Ferrari’s full recovery is a longer-term project.
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