Ferrari arrived at the Belgian Grand Prix believing Spa-Francorchamps would expose some of the SF-26’s most significant weaknesses. After succeeding at Silverstone, the Maranello team faced a circuit that looked considerably less favourable on paper, with two of its three sectors dominated by long straights. Yet Ferrari still left Belgium with second place, having already claimed victory in Britain.
Those results were not produced by one decisive technical breakthrough. Instead, Ferrari’s turnaround across Silverstone and Spa came from a combination of improved weekend execution, more effective hybrid deployment and a better understanding of how to place the SF-26 within its optimum setup window.
Ferrari changed its approach to Formula 1 race weekends
The first important development has been a change in the attitude of the entire trackside operation. The weekends at Silverstone and Spa provided particularly clear evidence of that progress, with Lewis Hamilton highlighting how Ferrari had raised its standards across every area.
“We made a real step forward in every detail of our work throughout the whole weekend,” Lewis Hamilton explained.
Every Grand Prix weekend must be treated as an opportunity to win, without ruling out possibilities before the cars have even reached the track. That may sound obvious, but changing the perspective with which every member of a Formula 1 team approaches an event is far from straightforward from a management standpoint.
A comparable mentality could be seen at Red Bull during the second half of the 2025 season. The RB21 was not necessarily the strongest car in the field, yet Max Verstappen repeatedly produced results that appeared to exceed its underlying potential. The decisive element, to borrow the terminology often used by Ferrari team principal Frédéric Vasseur, was the execution of every individual session.
Each practice or qualifying segment must help the team move forward. The objective is to make constant progress and search for performance in every possible area, rather than waiting for one major upgrade to transform the competitive picture.
Ferrari improved the SF-26’s energy-management software
The consequences of that improved approach can be seen in several technical areas. At both Silverstone and Spa, Ferrari was unexpectedly competitive through specific sections of the circuit. In Britain, the SF-26 produced excellent top speed along the Hangar Straight. In Belgium, the car was particularly quick in the opening sector before losing more ground in the final part of the lap.
Our assessment is that Ferrari made a tangible step forward in how it used the hybrid element of its 2026 power unit. The challenge of managing the new Formula 1 power units requires teams to define battery recovery and deployment points with extraordinary precision at every circuit.
Engineers must determine exactly where energy recovery begins within each corner and where the stored electrical power should subsequently be released. They must also decide how that additional power is transferred to the rear wheels.
This is the much-discussed process of electrical deployment, an area that appears to trouble Ferrari more in qualifying than over a race distance. Frédéric Vasseur acknowledged that the characteristics of the different power units may create contrasting advantages.
“It is probably a characteristic of the power unit that helps Mercedes a little over a single lap, while it could favour us in the race, but we are not certain,” Frédéric Vasseur said.
Different interpretations of energy delivery inevitably produce different strengths and weaknesses. However, at a circuit where deployment strategy carries enormous importance, Ferrari demonstrated that it could position itself immediately behind Mercedes.
Mercedes customer teams such as McLaren were unable to extract the same potential from their own energy-management software. Mercedes itself also encountered a straight-line power problem at Spa, with Toto Wolff confirming that the issue affected every Mercedes power unit during the Belgian Grand Prix weekend.
Ferrari found the right compromise setup for the SF-26
The final part of Ferrari’s progress concerns the overall setup of the SF-26, including ride height, suspension stiffness and aerodynamic load. To begin Free Practice 1 with a competitive baseline, teams must complete extensive preparation and correlation work before the weekend.
That process continues even after the previous Grand Prix, when engineers analyse and process the race data to improve the starting setup for the next event. Once the car reaches the circuit, those theoretical choices must be adjusted according to the real information gathered on track.
The intuition of the drivers and engineers then becomes essential. Small changes and detailed adjustments can significantly improve the driver’s confidence and maximise the performance available from the car. Silverstone provided a clear example, as Lewis Hamilton identified a development direction that Charles Leclerc subsequently followed.
Ferrari’s work in Britain ultimately contributed to its victory, while the team’s Belgian Grand Prix performance produced second place for Charles Leclerc and fourth for Lewis Hamilton.
At Spa, Ferrari was particularly effective in selecting the correct level of rear aerodynamic load. That was an area the team had evaluated incorrectly in Austria, where its setup compromise did not deliver the expected result.
Spa-Francorchamps creates several conflicting requirements. Teams need enough downforce to protect performance through the fast and technical middle sector, but excessive aerodynamic load can prove costly on the Kemmel Straight and through the long full-throttle sections near the end of the lap.
Lewis Hamilton once again chose not to rely on simulator work, instead placing his confidence in his experience and sensitivity behind the wheel. Ferrari responded positively despite concerns that the SF-26 would have a much narrower setup window at Spa.
Tyre preparation completed Ferrari’s Belgian GP progress
Ferrari’s operational execution was also extremely strong. The team identified an effective warm-up strategy for the tyre compounds and selected the most suitable initial tyre pressures, two details that can have a major influence on grip, balance and performance over the opening laps of a stint.
That work was particularly important during a weekend in which Ferrari’s choices had to balance straight-line speed, aerodynamic load and tyre behaviour. Although the team was unable to convert its position into victory, its Spa result offered encouraging evidence about the SF-26’s broader potential.
The result therefore came from the combination of a more ambitious mentality, improved energy deployment, a well-judged compromise setup and precise operational decisions. Ferrari did not eliminate every weakness of the SF-26 between Silverstone and Spa, but it demonstrated that better execution can allow the team to challenge even at circuits that initially appear poorly suited to the car.
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