Why Ferrari keeps falling short in Formula 1: Jock Clear shares his honest verdict. Jock Clear reflects on Ferrari's title struggles and the responsibility he still feels.

Ferrari’s 2026 Formula 1 campaign began with encouraging signs, especially after a disappointing 2025 season that produced far more questions than positives. The SF-26 has demonstrated a much stronger technical foundation, allowing the Scuderia to consistently fight near the front of the field once again and reigniting hopes of at least securing race victories throughout the season.

Despite that progress, however, the Prancing Horse still appears to be dealing with one familiar weakness that has repeatedly made the difference between simply being competitive and genuinely winning championships. As the season has unfolded, it has become increasingly evident that Ferrari’s biggest limitation lies in its power unit, which has yet to match the performance level of its main rivals. That shortfall has prevented the Maranello-based team from making the final step needed to become a consistent race-winning force.

A familiar story?

Looking more closely, this year’s situation feels like another chapter in a story that has stretched across almost two decades. Since Ferrari claimed the Constructors’ Championship in 2008 and the Drivers’ Championship in 2007, every subsequent season has brought a different obstacle: changing regulations, uncompetitive cars, reliability concerns, strategic mistakes, organizational restructuring or, as is the case today, an engine that still cannot deliver the performance required to dominate consistently.

Each year, one crucial piece of the puzzle has seemed to be missing, extending a championship drought that continues to weigh heavily on one of Formula 1’s most iconic teams. Speaking about Ferrari’s long wait for another world title and the reasons behind it, former Scuderia engineer Jock Clear shared his thoughts during an exclusive interview with formula1.it.

Jock Clear speaks

“Having been at Ferrari for 10 years, I would have loved to win a world championship. Since I was part of that journey, I have to take some responsibility for not winning. I enjoyed winning with Williams and Mercedes. I contributed to those victories, and I also gave everything I had at Ferrari, but we didn’t win. I’m disappointed that I couldn’t find a way to take Ferrari back to the top, but I also experienced incredible years and fantastic victories, like those at Monaco and Monza with Charles Leclerc. It was fantastic.”

“I don’t know what the missing piece is. If we knew what the special ingredient was, we would all use it, everywhere and all the time. Many different factors have to come together. The reason you don’t win is because you’re simply not doing as good a job as someone else. Red Bull did a better job over those years, and so did Mercedes. If we had known exactly what needed to be done, we would have solved the problem.”