Lewis Hamilton has given Ferrari’s upgraded engine an encouraging first assessment at Monza, praising its behaviour through the Italian circuit’s slower sections while identifying straight-line speed as a significant problem that the team must understand ahead of the Italian Grand Prix.
Ferrari opened its home weekend with a one-two in first practice, but the picture changed in FP2. The SF-26 remained competitive enough to fight towards the front, although Hamilton could manage only fifth place at the end of Friday, almost half a second behind George Russell’s benchmark and more than three tenths adrift of Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc.
Lewis Hamilton points to Ferrari’s straight-line speed after Monza FP2
The biggest difficulty for the seven-time world champion was the SF-26’s performance on the straights. Hamilton believes a substantial part of his deficit to Russell, who set the fastest time in FP2, came specifically from those sections of the Monza circuit.
“Straight-line speed is a significant problem. You only have to look at the sector times: I was losing around six tenths to George just on the straights,” Lewis Hamilton explained. “That’s something we need to work on. And then there’s the balance: it was very difficult to extract the best possible lap time from the car.”
Friday’s second session was made more complicated by changes Ferrari introduced between runs. Rather than improving the SF-26, Hamilton felt those adjustments moved the car in the wrong direction.
“For some reason, it wasn’t easy to drive in FP2. We made a couple of changes, but we actually made things worse,” the British driver admitted. “We could go back, but we’ll assess whether it’s possible to improve the car.”
The comments come during a crucial home weekend in which Ferrari has introduced further technical developments. The Scuderia’s Monza specification also includes changes designed specifically for the circuit’s unusual low-drag demands, including a modified SF-26 FTM aimed at reducing drag and improving efficiency.
Ferrari must establish whether Monza deficit comes from drag or power
The precise cause of Hamilton’s straight-line deficit had not yet been established after Friday practice. Ferrari therefore needs to determine whether the time loss is primarily linked to the aerodynamic configuration of the SF-26, the power unit or the way the updated package has been implemented.
“We need to understand whether the problem on the straights is a question of aerodynamic load or power. If that’s where the problem is, whether it’s an implementation issue,” Hamilton explained.
That distinction will be particularly important at Monza, where straight-line performance is central to overall competitiveness. Ferrari’s challenge is therefore to understand whether reducing resistance or optimising the new power-unit package can recover some of the time Hamilton identified before qualifying.
Lewis Hamilton praises Ferrari’s upgraded Monza engine
Despite the concern over outright speed on the straights, Hamilton’s initial verdict on Ferrari’s updated engine itself was positive. The Briton thanked the personnel at Maranello responsible for producing the specification that made its debut at the Italian Grand Prix.
“The engine, though, is an improvement and I’m really grateful to the guys at the factory for the work they’ve done,” Hamilton added. “Our implementation programme is different from that of our rivals. It seems the others have less aerodynamic resistance on the straights, so that’s an area we need to focus on.”
Ferrari’s latest power-unit development is part of its ongoing effort to extract more performance from the SF-26. The ADUO-2 turbo upgrade prepared for Monza focuses on the compressor side of the package, while the wider development programme involves more than simply pursuing a headline horsepower increase.
That distinction is particularly relevant given Hamilton’s feedback. Although the Ferrari driver was dissatisfied with the car’s straight-line performance, he highlighted a clear improvement in how the updated engine behaved at lower speeds.
“As for the engine, it’s really nice to drive at low speed, and there are a couple of those sections at Monza,” Hamilton explained. “They’ve done a really great job in that respect.”
Ferrari has work to do before qualifying despite competitive Friday pace
The contrast between Ferrari’s two Friday sessions leaves the team with both encouraging signs and an important problem to solve. The one-two in FP1 demonstrated the SF-26’s potential, while Leclerc remained more than three tenths ahead of Hamilton in the second session even as Russell moved to the top of the timesheets.
Ferrari had already arrived at its home Grand Prix with significant attention focused on its latest technical package, with Charles Leclerc offering his own assessment of the engine and floor upgrades introduced for the Italian GP.
For Hamilton, the immediate priority is now clearer. Ferrari needs to recover the performance being lost on Monza’s long straights without compromising the qualities he appreciated from the upgraded power unit in the slower sections. With the underlying pace of the SF-26 still appearing competitive, understanding that trade-off will be central to Ferrari’s preparations for the remainder of its home weekend.
Leave a Reply