Ferrari had a Formula 1 car capable of fighting much higher in the 2026 World Championship, according to veteran journalist and commentator Guido Schittone. In an exclusive interview with NewsF1, Schittone argued that the SF-26 represents an important technical step forward for the Maranello team, but believes poor management has cost Ferrari a significant number of points during the season.
In Schittone’s assessment, the results do not fully reflect the potential Ferrari has shown on track. Rather than identifying the SF-26 itself as the fundamental problem, he believes the team has repeatedly failed to convert competitive weekends into the points, wins and podiums that the car was capable of delivering.
Guido Schittone says Ferrari had a front-running SF-26
During the interview, Guido Schittone offered an unequivocally positive assessment of Ferrari’s technical work. In his view, the SF-26 has finally restored the Scuderia to a level where it can compete directly with Mercedes and McLaren.
“This year Vasseur has managed to bring Ferrari back where it needed to be. This year, they have a good car.”
That assessment contrasts with much of the criticism directed at Ferrari during the season. For Guido Schittone, the central issue is not simply whether the car is competitive enough. The SF-26 has demonstrated the performance required to fight near the front, while Ferrari continues to believe that developing the SF-26 can also benefit its 2027 Formula 1 project.
Ferrari ‘left too many points on the table’ in 2026
This is where Guido Schittone’s strongest criticism emerges. He believes Ferrari has not extracted the full value of the SF-26 and has allowed important opportunities to slip away during the championship.
“There have been occasions when Ferrari could have fought with Mercedes and McLaren and wasted those opportunities because of poor race management.”
His criticism concerns strategy, qualifying management and decisions made during Grands Prix which, in his opinion, prevented Ferrari from translating the car’s full potential into results. The gap between potential and execution has become a recurring theme during the season, with Ferrari’s SF-26 qualifying difficulties also placing greater importance on delivering clean and efficient weekends.
Ferrari’s performance relative to Mercedes, McLaren and its other main competitors can be followed through the Ferrari vs F1 Rivals statistics, which provide a broader picture of the competitive balance across the season.
Ferrari pit wall comes under criticism
Guido Schittone returned to a recurring theme in his analysis: Ferrari’s pit-wall organisation. According to the journalist, the Scuderia lacks a figure capable of taking full responsibility for sporting decisions during a race weekend.
“Ferrari is missing a link between the structure and the pit-wall management of qualifying, the race and the event.”
He is not calling for a technical revolution. Instead, his argument centres on organisation and authority. In Guido Schittone’s view, Ferrari needs someone capable of making immediate calls when strategy or driver management requires intervention, without allowing uncertainty to delay the decision.
The management of crucial moments has already become a major talking point around the team in 2026, with other former drivers and observers also questioning Ferrari’s handling of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.
Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton are not the real problem
Another important part of Guido Schittone’s argument concerns Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton. He does not believe Ferrari’s difficulties in the 2026 championship can simply be attributed to its two drivers.
“The driver always wants to be ahead of his team-mate.”
For Guido Schittone, that competitive instinct is completely normal. Problems arise when the team itself does not establish a clear course of action during the race.
“They have been managed badly by the team because there is nobody who says: this is what we are doing now.”
His criticism is therefore directed primarily at Ferrari’s sporting management rather than at Charles Leclerc or Lewis Hamilton individually. In a season where small margins have often separated the leading teams, indecision can turn a potentially strong result into lost championship points.
‘The engine matters, but it does not explain everything’
Ferrari’s power unit has also been a frequent subject of discussion during the 2026 campaign. Guido Schittone accepts that there is still room for improvement on the engine side, but does not believe power-unit performance alone can explain Ferrari’s championship deficit.
In his view, the SF-26 has produced front-running performance at several circuits without consistently converting that pace into victories and podium finishes. That is why his overall assessment of Ferrari’s season remains incomplete: the technical potential has been evident, but the final results have not always matched it.
The consequences of missed opportunities have become particularly visible during Ferrari’s more difficult weekends. Lewis Hamilton’s retirement in Madrid, for example, added another costly zero to a period in which the Scuderia was already struggling to maximise its opportunities, although in that case a brake-by-wire failure caused his retirement.
Ferrari should build on the SF-26 rather than start again
Despite his criticism, Guido Schittone believes Ferrari should maintain continuity around the current project. In his view, Frédéric Vasseur’s work has restored competitiveness at Maranello, and another change in leadership would be the wrong response.
The priority should instead be to strengthen the sporting management of the pit wall and ensure that a competitive car is supported by a team capable of capitalising on every opportunity.
With the final phase of the 2026 World Championship approaching, Ferrari now has the opportunity to demonstrate that the mistakes highlighted by Guido Schittone belong to the past — and that the SF-26 can still finish the season fighting at the front.
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