Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc ultimately took different aerodynamic directions with Ferrari’s SF-26 in Baku after the seven-time world champion decided the team’s low-drag solution was not giving him the rear stability and traction he needed.
Ferrari had arrived at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix searching for ways to reduce its straight-line deficit, with Baku placing a particularly heavy premium on top speed. The Scuderia showed encouraging signs through practice and Charles Leclerc eventually qualified second, but the weekend still ended with only fourth and sixth places for the two Ferrari drivers.
Lewis Hamilton moves away from Ferrari’s low-drag Baku setup
According to the Italian edition of Motorsport.com, Ferrari initially fitted both SF-26s with its low-drag bargeboard configuration featuring a single vertical element during practice. The solution was intended to help the cars achieve higher speeds on Baku’s long flat-out sections as the team searched for ways to respond to Mercedes’ advantage.
That search had already pushed Ferrari towards increasingly aggressive compromises. The scale of the challenge had become evident during practice, when Mercedes opened a substantial advantage while Ferrari explored its Baku setup direction.
Hamilton was not satisfied with the way the lighter-drag configuration affected the balance of his SF-26, even after finishing third in FP3. His concerns centred on the behaviour of the rear of the car, prompting him to abandon the single-element version before qualifying.
The Briton instead switched to Ferrari’s configuration with three vertical elements. Although that arrangement produced additional drag, it also provided a more stable rear end, which Hamilton believed was more important for extracting performance from the car over a lap.
Charles Leclerc keeps the lower-drag Ferrari configuration
Charles Leclerc reached a different conclusion. The Monegasque retained the single-element specification for qualifying and the race, accepting the balance characteristics in exchange for its lower-drag benefits.
Hamilton felt he required stronger traction and greater rear stability than Leclerc after practice. A more settled rear could also make it easier for him to generate temperature in the front tyres, an important consideration around a circuit where confidence under braking and through Baku’s slower sections was critical to the SF-26’s performance.
The difference between the two configurations did not create a huge straight-line speed penalty for Hamilton. He reached 340.1km/h during the weekend, compared with Leclerc’s 341.9km/h, despite running the higher-drag arrangement.
Ferrari’s wider difficulties had already been visible in the data, with SF-26 telemetry showing how its previous cornering advantage had weakened in Azerbaijan. The team was therefore trying to balance straight-line efficiency against drivability rather than simply chasing the lowest possible drag level.
Charles Leclerc still holds the advantage over Lewis Hamilton
The extra stability did not allow Hamilton to beat his teammate in qualifying. Leclerc produced a 1:43.363 to secure second on the grid, while Hamilton qualified sixth with a 1:43.858.
The gap was notable because Leclerc’s fastest Q2 lap, a 1:43.780, was also quicker than Hamilton managed in Q3. Hamilton had recorded a 1:44.037 in Q2 before improving in the final qualifying segment.
Leclerc’s front-row result nevertheless came despite Ferrari remaining some distance from the ultimate pace, as George Russell secured a dominant Baku pole ahead of the Ferrari.
The pattern continued during the Grand Prix. Leclerc recorded a fastest lap of 1:45.784 on lap 44, while Hamilton’s best was a 1:46.170 on lap 49 of the 51-lap race. Leclerc eventually finished fourth, 8.246 seconds ahead of Hamilton in sixth.
Oscar Piastri’s costly lock-up also helped Leclerc’s route to fourth place, while Hamilton finished behind Andrea Kimi Antonelli despite the Mercedes driver starting only 16th. George Russell went on to win the Azerbaijan Grand Prix ahead of Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar.
Ferrari’s Baku compromise exposes different driver priorities
The contrasting configurations illustrated how Hamilton and Leclerc were looking for different qualities from the same SF-26. Leclerc was comfortable enough with the lighter-drag package to retain it when the competitive sessions began, whereas Hamilton preferred to accept some additional aerodynamic resistance in exchange for a rear end that gave him more confidence and traction.
Ferrari had already been working through those compromises during final practice, with its FP3 changes improving deployment and setup without eliminating the SF-26’s underlying limitations.
In Baku, the two approaches ultimately produced the same broad conclusion. Hamilton’s additional stability was not enough to close the gap to Leclerc, while the lower-drag configuration on the other Ferrari could not put Leclerc in contention with the fastest car. The different choices instead highlighted the difficult trade-off Ferrari faced between straight-line efficiency and giving each driver the balance needed to attack the Azerbaijan street circuit.
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