Ferrari on the hunt for Mercedes: technicians at work, but it will take months

Ferrari has shown a decent state of form this early in the season, at least compared to the fierce pessimism that circulated in the winter of 2026 around the SF-26. The main difficulties of the Cavallino’s new car at the moment concern the lag compared to the engine tuned by Mercedes, so much so that they have already run for cover in Maranello. The wait before seeing concrete news on the track, however, is still likely to be quite long. Despite the fact that Formula 1 is about to take a month’s break, in fact, there is likely to be a further wait.

The ‘Corriere della Sera’ explains this, noting that the regulations put in place by the FIA speak clearly. Ferrari needs to unlock the so-called “ADUO,” a system of updates and development that the federation calculates based on the gap from the reference power unit. Well: cards in hand we can only move in this direction after the sixth Grand Prix of the season, which with the calendar change coincides with the Monte Carlo race. That, however, will come only next June 7.

Clearly, such a wait risks crushing Ferrari’s remaining world championship hopes. Meanwhile, ‘Autosprint’ speaks of the possibility of an initial development that could arrive at least in May, in time for the Canadian Grand Prix. The completely new engine, however, is in danger of not being ready until the Spanish Grand Prix. That, compared to Monaco, is scheduled for the following week. Before Montreal, however, the Cavallino’s engineers will only be able to work on software that can guarantee better power management than seen so far.

Already after Suzuka, a race that ended with an almost miraculous third place, Charles Leclerc had found out the current problems of his Ferrari. “I defended the podium and it’s definitely a good result. It is one of those placings to take home, at least until we have the best car: a lot will depend on developments. Today I had to struggle a lot to keep up with George Russell,” the Monegasque had said at the end of the race.

“Once I passed Russell, I was aware that in the last laps he would try very hard to take back the position, but I think I defended myself well. It was an intense and even entertaining duel, which allowed me to stay on the podium. Overall we saw a more competitive McLaren, while we lacked a bit of pace,” Leclerc had added in his analysis.