Guenther Steiner reveals why Ferrari’s heavily upgraded SF-26 still cannot match Mercedes and McLaren. Why Ferrari’s heavily upgraded SF-26 is still struggling to match McLaren and Mercedes.

Ferrari arrived at the Miami Grand Prix hoping that its extensive SF-26 upgrade package would finally unlock the car’s full potential and reignite the team’s 2026 Formula 1 campaign. Instead, the weekend left Scuderia Ferrari facing even more questions about why the car continues to underperform despite major development efforts.

After introducing what many inside the paddock described as an “EVO” version of the Ferrari SF-26, the Italian team expected a noticeable step forward in competitiveness. The package reportedly included 11 separate upgrades targeting several weaknesses identified during the opening phase of the Formula 1 season.

However, Ferrari once again left the race weekend without the breakthrough result many supporters had hoped for. Between the early contact involving Lewis Hamilton and Franco Colapinto, combined with Charles Leclerc’s costly late-race error, the Scuderia failed to maximize the potential of the updated package.

The disappointing outcome immediately reignited debate across the Formula 1 paddock regarding the real level of performance hidden inside the Ferrari SF-26 and whether the current technical direction is capable of closing the gap to McLaren and Mercedes.

Guenther Steiner explains Ferrari’s biggest problem

Former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner offered one of the clearest assessments of Ferrari’s current situation while discussing the team’s struggles on the The Red Flags podcast.

According to Guenther Steiner, Ferrari’s difficulties are particularly frustrating because the team is not suffering from one obvious catastrophic weakness that can be isolated and quickly corrected. Instead, the Ferrari SF-26 appears to be losing performance through a collection of smaller issues that combine to create a larger overall limitation.

Guenther Steiner explained that if Ferrari were dealing with one major flaw, the solution process would likely be more straightforward. Instead, the Italian side appears trapped in a situation where multiple small inefficiencies prevent the car from operating consistently at the level required to challenge for victories.

This type of problem is often far more difficult to solve in modern Formula 1 because every aerodynamic and mechanical system is deeply interconnected. A small imbalance in one area can create negative consequences across tyre management, aerodynamic stability, and race pace consistency.

Ferrari’s tyre degradation concerns remain a major weakness

One of the most worrying aspects identified by Guenther Steiner is Ferrari’s tendency to lose competitiveness over longer stints during races. While the Ferrari SF-26 often appears reasonably competitive early in a Grand Prix, its pace advantage tends to disappear as tyre wear increases.

Guenther Steiner suggested that the issue likely points toward aerodynamic instability and inconsistent downforce generation rather than outright mechanical deficiencies.

As tyre degradation increases, the Ferrari SF-26 reportedly slides more aggressively through corners, which accelerates tyre wear and creates a damaging cycle that becomes increasingly difficult to control during race stints.

This analysis is particularly significant because tyre management has become one of the defining performance factors in modern Formula 1. Even a small increase in tyre degradation can dramatically compromise race pace over an entire Grand Prix distance.

For Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, this creates an especially frustrating scenario. Both Ferrari drivers may be able to remain competitive during qualifying or the opening laps of races, only to gradually lose performance relative to rivals as tyre temperatures and wear begin to rise.

Ferrari’s power unit is no longer the main concern

Interestingly, Guenther Steiner also defended Ferrari’s power unit department, which had previously faced criticism during earlier Formula 1 seasons.

According to the former Haas boss, the Ferrari engine itself does not appear to be the primary source of the team’s current struggles. Instead, the overall behaviour of the car throughout a race suggests that the underlying issue is more closely linked to aerodynamic efficiency and balance.

Guenther Steiner reportedly noted that the Ferrari SF-26 often looks competitive at the beginning of races before gradually fading, something that would be difficult to attribute purely to engine performance since power units themselves do not normally lose significant pace over race distance.

This observation further strengthens the theory that Ferrari’s real challenge lies in maintaining stable aerodynamic performance while protecting the tyres over long stints.

McLaren and Mercedes raise the pressure on Ferrari

While Ferrari continues searching for answers, rivals are making increasingly visible progress. McLaren has emerged as one of the strongest teams on the grid thanks to its exceptional aerodynamic platform and tyre management, while Mercedes appears to have solved many of the balance and consistency problems that previously limited its competitiveness.

As a result, Ferrari risks becoming stuck in an uncomfortable middle ground: too competitive to be considered struggling, but still lacking the final level of refinement needed to consistently fight for victories and championships.

Guenther Steiner believes the gap separating Ferrari from the front is not enormous. However, modern Formula 1 is often decided by extremely small margins, and Ferrari continues to fall just short of finding the final fraction of performance required to fully unlock the SF-26 package.

For Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, the challenge now becomes helping Ferrari transform promising flashes of speed into complete race-weekend execution. With the Formula 1 development battle intensifying and rivals continuing to evolve rapidly, Ferrari cannot afford many more weekends where major upgrade packages fail to deliver the expected breakthrough.