Ferrari’s relentless 2026 Formula 1 development programme has attracted the attention of its closest rivals, with McLaren now examining how the Maranello team has been able to design, manufacture and introduce upgrades at such a rapid rate. McLaren engineering technical director Neil Houldey has praised both the quantity and quality of Ferrari’s development work, describing it as something the reigning world champions can learn from.
McLaren ended the first half of the season with an impressive victory in Hungary, bringing to a close a run of inconsistent and unsatisfactory races for a team that had hoped to remain firmly involved at the front throughout the campaign. That success was made possible by an important upgrade package introduced at the Hungaroring, where the wider 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix produced a very different outcome from several of McLaren’s preceding weekends.
Ferrari’s 2026 upgrades become a reference point for McLaren
McLaren’s latest work may have been influenced, at least in part, by the enormous number of developments Ferrari introduced during the first half of 2026. Maranello has impressed not only with the effectiveness of its upgrades but also with the sheer volume of new components reaching the circuit.
Those factors have become particularly important at the beginning of a new regulatory era. The first half of 2026 triggered an intense development battle across the grid, with Ferrari and Red Bull standing out for the quantity of new parts they were able to produce and introduce.
The Scuderia has deliberately pursued a race-by-race development approach for the SF-26, while Charles Leclerc has also called on the team to remain aggressive in the 2026 upgrade battle.
F1 development race set to continue after summer break
The development contest is expected to continue once Formula 1 returns from its summer break, before gradually easing as teams begin shifting more of their attention towards their 2027 projects. Ferrari and McLaren are both expected to remain part of that battle after managing to take several victories away from Mercedes, which had dominated without serious opposition at the beginning of the season.
Both teams appear to have further developments in reserve. McLaren is preparing another update package for the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, while Ferrari is also set to continue developing its car after the shutdown.
Mercedes, meanwhile, is expected to introduce further upgrades of its own after bringing fewer new components than some of its rivals so far. Both Mercedes and McLaren have identified Ferrari as the team that has impressed them most in terms of the quantity and quality of its development, to the point that the Woking operation has begun examining its own processes in an attempt to match Maranello’s rate of design and production.
Neil Houldey explains why McLaren is studying Ferrari
Speaking to Motorsport.com, Neil Houldey acknowledged that McLaren had itself done a good job of delivering upgrades that produced additional performance, but singled out Ferrari when assessing what rival teams had achieved.
“I think we’ve done a good job of bringing upgrades that have added performance,” Houldey explained. “When you look around at the competitors, there are teams like Ferrari who have done a fantastic job of bringing developments. I think they’ve brought forward the use of what they have available. In terms of volume, it looks like Ferrari have managed to do a lot, and that’s something we need to look at and understand from both an aerodynamic development and manufacturing point of view.”
For McLaren, Ferrari’s ability to turn development ideas into finished components quickly has become an important reference point as the upgrade battle continues.
“The way they’ve produced these things so quickly is an inspiration,” Houldey added. “As with anything in F1, if you’re not progressing and finding ways to do things faster and more effectively, then you’re going backwards. It’s been a good lesson for us to see what others are capable of.”
McLaren has no plans to stop developing its 2026 car
McLaren intends to respond by maintaining its own development programme throughout the coming races and beyond. Although the teams will progressively turn towards 2027, Houldey made clear that the Woking squad does not intend to abandon work on its current car prematurely because much of what it learns can carry over.
“We expect to bring components over the next few races, and we expect to do so later in the year as well,” he explained. “We certainly won’t stop 2026 development because a lot of it will transfer. We’re very keen to keep developing the car for as long as possible.”
Ferrari’s upgrade campaign has therefore achieved more than simply improving the SF-26. Its rivals are now analysing how Maranello has managed the entire development chain, from aerodynamic work to manufacturing speed, as one of Formula 1’s most important technical battles prepares to resume after the summer break.
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