Ferrari’s Austrian GP engine mystery: FP1 telemetry suggests Lewis Hamilton never revealed the SF-26’s true pace
Although the FP1 timing screens at the Red Bull Ring appeared to favour Mercedes, a closer examination of the telemetry tells a far more intriguing story. Ferrari’s opening session at the 2026 Austrian Grand Prix was never designed to chase headline lap times. Instead, the Scuderia devoted the entire practice hour to evaluating its latest technical developments, with Lewis Hamilton following an extensive data-gathering programme while Charles Leclerc watched from the garage after handing his car over to Ferrari junior Dino Beganovic.
It was an important morning for the Maranello-based squad, as the long-awaited updated power unit featuring the latest ADUO technology made its competitive debut. Alongside the revised engine package, Ferrari also continued evaluating aerodynamic refinements introduced after the Spanish Grand Prix, making FP1 a crucial correlation session rather than an outright performance run.
Telemetry comparison highlights Ferrari’s conservative approach
A direct comparison between the fastest laps of Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Lewis Hamilton immediately reveals how differently Mercedes and Ferrari approached the session. While Mercedes completed an aggressive programme that included qualifying simulations and extensive race preparation, the Maranello team deliberately avoided extracting the maximum potential from the SF-26.
The overall lap time difference of around 0.665 seconds between the Mercedes rookie and the seven-time Formula 1 World Champion cannot simply be explained by chassis performance. Instead, the telemetry strongly suggests Ferrari was operating with significantly reduced engine deployment and a much heavier fuel load, prioritising engineering objectives over competitive lap times.
This mirrors the strategy Ferrari adopted earlier in the season during the Spanish Grand Prix, where the team also chose to conceal its true performance until later in the weekend.
Speed trap data points to restricted engine deployment
The telemetry becomes even more revealing when individual sections of the circuit are analysed. On the run towards Turn 1, both cars recorded very similar initial acceleration, but after the first corner the Mercedes continued to build speed while the Ferrari plateaued much earlier.
Lewis Hamilton reached approximately 319 km/h, whereas Andrea Kimi Antonelli continued accelerating to around 325 km/h, allowing the Mercedes driver to gain valuable time throughout the remainder of the straight.
The same pattern appeared again between Turns 3 and 4. While Andrea Kimi Antonelli achieved a top speed close to 319 km/h, Lewis Hamilton levelled off at roughly 305 km/h, producing another noticeable time gain for Mercedes.
The contrast became even more pronounced on the short acceleration zone between Turns 8 and 9, where the Mercedes enjoyed a speed advantage approaching 20 km/h. By the time both drivers reached the final sector before the main straight, Lewis Hamilton had lost almost four tenths of a second relative to Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s benchmark lap almost entirely because of the difference in straight-line performance.
Rather than indicating a genuine lack of pace, these figures strongly support the theory that the Italian side intentionally limited the new power unit’s operating mode during FP1.
Ferrari prioritised correlation work over outright performance
The updated power unit was only one part of Ferrari’s extensive test programme. Throughout the session, engineers focused on validating simulation data by comparing on-track measurements with CFD and simulator predictions, an essential step before committing to a final setup for the remainder of the weekend.
Several experimental components also appeared on the SF-26 exclusively for FP1. Among the most noticeable changes were the temporary removal of the small winglet located near the exhaust outlet, a revised mirror support and modified aerodynamic elements around the bargeboard area. These parts were evaluated purely for data collection and were never expected to remain on the car for qualifying or the race.
Such an approach explains why Ferrari never attempted a representative qualifying simulation. Every run was designed to provide engineers with as much technical information as possible rather than reveal the car’s real pace to rivals.
Mercedes gathers valuable long-run data before Sunday’s race
While Ferrari concentrated on experimentation, Mercedes executed one of the most complete programmes of the session. Both Andrea Kimi Antonelli and George Russell completed meaningful long runs on the medium compound tyres as the Brackley squad focused on understanding tyre degradation ahead of what is expected to be an extremely hot Austrian Grand Prix.
The revised 2026 Pirelli tyre construction and the softer compounds selected for Spielberg could make rear tyre management one of the defining factors on Sunday. Although current expectations still point towards a one-stop race, Friday afternoon’s second practice session should provide a much clearer indication of degradation levels.
Mercedes‘ race simulations produced mixed conclusions. George Russell initially displayed stronger outright pace before suffering a more noticeable performance drop across the stint, while Andrea Kimi Antonelli delivered slightly slower but considerably more consistent lap times despite continuing to work on improving his brake feel throughout the session.
Ultimately, however, FP1 should not be viewed as a reliable indication of the competitive order. Ferrari’s telemetry strongly suggests the Scuderia intentionally concealed much of the SF-26’s potential while evaluating its new ADUO power unit and aerodynamic updates. The true picture is only expected to emerge once both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc begin pushing closer to the car’s limits during the remainder of the Austrian Grand Prix weekend.
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