Jamie Chadwick questions Ferrari energy deployment after Lewis Hamilton Baku radio complaints

Lewis Hamilton’s repeated requests for different energy deployment during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix have raised another question about Ferrari’s SF-26: whether the team is extracting everything available from its existing package. Jamie Chadwick believes the issue goes beyond the known power-unit deficit and extends to how Ferrari is optimising the car during a race weekend.

Ferrari’s lack of straight-line performance has been one of the major themes of its 2026 season. Hamilton has repeatedly estimated the engine deficit at roughly four tenths of a second per lap, while the Azerbaijan Grand Prix again exposed weaknesses on Baku’s long acceleration zones. However, Chadwick’s analysis of the race suggested that outright power may not explain the entire gap.

Lewis Hamilton repeatedly asked Ferrari for different deployment in Baku

While following Ferrari’s radio communications during the race, Chadwick noticed Hamilton regularly asking the pit wall to alter the way electrical energy was being deployed. She pointed out that no other driver she was monitoring appeared to be making comparable requests with the same frequency.

The seven-time world champion was openly unhappy with Ferrari’s deployment strategy during the Grand Prix and questioned why rival cars appeared able to use additional electrical power in parts of the circuit where the SF-26 was not doing so.

Hamilton eventually finished sixth, matching his poorest race result of the season. Baku had already highlighted wider concerns over Ferrari’s SF-26 performance against Mercedes, Red Bull and McLaren, particularly on the circuit’s long straights.

Jamie Chadwick believes Ferrari has an optimisation problem

Speaking on the F1 Show, Jamie Chadwick argued that Ferrari’s difficulties should not be reduced entirely to the engine. Having studied the speed traces from Azerbaijan, she recognised Mercedes as the dominant benchmark but felt Ferrari’s deficit relative to several other cars was not large enough to explain everything by power-unit performance alone.

Chadwick believes optimisation is therefore a major part of the problem. When a team does not possess the outright strongest car, she argued, it becomes even more important to execute every smaller detail correctly, including qualifying strategy, slipstream management and race operations.

In her assessment, Ferrari has not consistently maximised those areas sufficiently to give Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc the best possible opportunity. That shortfall, she suggested, helps explain some of the frustration coming from the cockpit.

Baku speed traces put Ferrari deployment under scrutiny

Chadwick also highlighted the speed traces from Baku, where Mercedes showed a clear advantage even compared with McLaren, which uses Mercedes power units. She acknowledged that differences in set-up and gear ratios could contribute to those variations, but also raised energy deployment as another possible factor.

That distinction matters because two cars using related power-unit technology can still produce different straight-line characteristics depending on how the complete package is configured and operated. Ferrari’s recorded speeds and those of its rivals can be compared through the F1 Top Speed Comparison.

Hamilton’s radio traffic reinforced Chadwick’s concern. The British driver was repeatedly requesting alternative deployment settings and strategies, creating a level of communication about battery use that she did not hear from other drivers during the race.

Chadwick acknowledged one possible explanation: Hamilton may simply have been experimenting with different options because of his position in the Grand Prix. Even so, she believes the volume of feedback between the cockpit and pit wall suggests Ferrari still has work to do in extracting the full performance of its package.

Ferrari’s problem may extend beyond outright power

The distinction between a fundamental engine deficit and imperfect optimisation is important for Ferrari. The team has acknowledged that Mercedes holds an advantage, but Chadwick’s analysis suggests some of the performance loss could also be connected to the way the SF-26 is configured and managed across a race weekend.

That would place greater emphasis on execution rather than simply waiting for future power-unit development. Ferrari’s broader technical progress and the evolution of the SF-26 can be followed through the Ferrari technical analysis section.

The Azerbaijan weekend also produced evidence that Ferrari-powered drivers outside the works team are feeling similar limitations. Haas driver Oliver Bearman complained about a lack of straight-line speed while fighting in the midfield, meaning Hamilton was not alone in identifying the Ferrari power unit as a constraint.

Ferrari execution remains another area for improvement

At the same time, Chadwick’s argument fits with acknowledgements already made by Hamilton and Fred Vasseur during the season. Both have accepted that Ferrari’s execution across race weekends has not consistently reached the standard required to fight for a championship.

For Chadwick, that is where the opportunity lies. Ferrari may not currently have the outright package enjoyed by Mercedes, but improving deployment, strategy and the finer operational details could still allow the team to extract more from what it already has.

Hamilton’s Baku radio therefore highlighted more than frustration over straight-line speed. It raised the possibility that Ferrari’s challenge is not simply finding more power, but also ensuring that every available element of the SF-26 is being used as effectively as possible.