The second practice session of the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix confirmed a trend already visible in FP1: the Ferrari SF-26 is struggling to find a stable and effective balance on the technical and iconic Suzuka circuit. The track favors front-end stability, yet for now, the Maranello car appears unsettled, particularly in the high-speed sections where precision and confidence are critical.
SF-26 oversteer and directional challenges in the Snake
The SF-26 showed a pronounced tendency to oversteer in fast corners, with evident difficulties in the rapid changes of direction through the first sector, known as the Snake, which demands an extremely solid aerodynamic platform. Further challenges appeared in the final chicane, where the aggressive kerbs highlighted sub-optimal mechanical response, leaving the SF-26 unsettled during load transfers.
Japanese GP Friday: Ferrari unstable between Snake and chicane
The technical picture emerging from Friday’s sessions suggests a car still far from ideal balance. In the more intricate sections of the circuit, the Ferrari struggled to maintain a clean line, forcing continuous corrections from the drivers. The Snake sector amplified deficiencies in managing rapid lateral load changes, while in the final chicane, the car had trouble absorbing kerb impacts, indicating a mechanical compromise still in need of refinement.
Lewis Hamilton: “We have a direction, but we need to figure out how to get there”
In this context, Lewis Hamilton confirmed the difficulties of a challenging day, while remaining optimistic about improvements through overnight simulator work in Maranello. At the end of the session, the seven-time world champion calmly analyzed the day’s issues: “Well, we’ll work on it. I think it’s just the nature of this track, you know. It’s an extremely demanding circuit. It’s amazing to drive. But finding the right balance, and I think, interestingly, there’s something… I think it depends on how this car is set up. There are similarities with what I experienced last year, so we’re working on that.”
Lewis Hamilton also emphasized the importance of the work ahead for the team in the coming hours: “I’m confident that overnight we’ll find something and improve the situation. It’s a fantastic circuit. But you need to be able to stay behind the car and have certainty that the car will stick to you. And today I had a few issues.”
“I just can’t match the others. So I think tonight we’ll do a deep analysis. We’ll get some interesting data from the simulator. But I have a sense of having a sort of guiding star. It’s just a matter of figuring out how to reach it. And so we’ll try to work that out.”
A Ferrari still interpreting its technical direction
These statements highlight a Ferrari still in the process of technical interpretation, with a clear direction identified but not yet fully translated into on-track performance. As often happens at Suzuka, the overnight work will be decisive: through data analysis, simulations, and simulator sessions, Maranello is already playing a key part of the weekend before the drivers even hit qualifying.
Ferrari’s Friday was a battle against the SF-26’s unpredictable rear end through Suzuka’s high-speed sweeps. Based on the content of Lewis Hamilton‘s feedback, the team is pinning its hopes on the “North Star” found in their data to bridge the gap to the front-runners before Saturday’s qualifying.
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