2026 Scuderia Ferrari HP F1 Team

[f1316]

I believe the update has indeed brought considerable performance improvement. A good portion of the straight-line speed deficit has been improved, and basically what remains is the PU deficit that separates Ferrari from having a car to directly compete with Mercedes.

Tomorrow we'll see what the race pace and tire degradation will be like to see if there's still any hope for this season, at least to be able to fight for wins.

It does seem like it. I do wonder if having a car with good high speed corner performance also helps more here than elsewhere. Still, if the supposed Austria PU update can really halve the horsepower gap, you have to think it could be game on (albeit, you could argue that Mercedes’ development programme is out of step - ie one big package so far vs two for Ferrari - and they have another aero upgrade to come)

[Badger]

Discrete aero changes isn't going to change straight line performance like that. They simply deployed a bit more on the straight and deployed slightly less elsewhere. Anyways, the power deficit is overstated. With the smaller turbo and exhaust flap they are giving up some peak power but gaining time elsewhere on the lap. So long as those concepts remain you can expect a peak power deficit to be there, doesn't mean they will lose time over the entire lap though.

[jurinius]

Prediction: Leclerc finishes ahead of Lewis tomorrow

Sure he should At least crashing under pressure is more predictable now on bet. Gotta luv 3rd podium in a row tomorrow. Popcorns

[PlatinumZealot]

Dude, it's not about Hamilton. Leclerc isn't doing well!!!!.

Hamilton is doing fine, better than before, obviously. If that is the reason for Leclerc´s mistakes, then I can´t know for sure but further GPs will give better understanding about that.

This is overlooked to the extend you start to wonder if it is deliberate

What I said is very objective and clear. People said Bottas was one of the best drivers ever over one lap to support narratives about Hamilton. Likewise, Perez was said to be mega slow to support narratives about Verstappen. Now we´re seeing Perez being speculated to go to a better team than Cadilac while Bottas is on the verge of ending his F1 carreer because he is just too slow. Maybe you have not been following what is being said on the media about Caddie drivers....

I know Perez and Bottas are off topic here but it does make one think that(both) Ferrari´s drivers might not be as good as Mercedes´, Red Bull´s and Mclaren´s, not just lacking on the engine side.(just my impression anyway)

So by some spooky correlations between Perez and Bottas it turns into Lewis isn't all that, Leclerc was always medicore and Max is really the king of all drivers! Wow.. How far have we gone off topic!

[f1316]

Discrete aero changes isn't going to change straight line performance like that. They simply deployed a bit more on the straight and deployed slightly less elsewhere. Anyways, the power deficit is overstated. With the smaller turbo and exhaust flap they are giving up some peak power but gaining time elsewhere on the lap. So long as those concepts remain you can expect a peak power deficit to be there, doesn't mean they will lose time over the entire lap though.

Well, it’s knock on effects. For example, if you can carry more speed through a corner, you need less deployment coming out; if you get better under floor downforce, you need less wing and so you also have less drag/more speed. So it is related.

I wonder if there’ll be conspiracy theories that, having got ADUO, they’ve turned the engine up.

[Brahmal]

So by some spooky correlations between Perez and Bottas it turns into Lewis isn't all that, Leclerc was always medicore and Max is really the king of all drivers! Wow.. How far have we gone off topic!

Transitive comparison is a fool's errand; comparing teammates directly can be hard enough! Good drivers can have bad seasons, or fall off sharply for whatever reason, without invalidating their (or their teammate's) best work. Bottas was good, Perez is good, Lewis is great, Charles can be great.

It's fantastic to see Lewis back close to his best, but that doesn't erase how much he struggled with the previous regs. I thought he was washed and am very glad to be proven wrong! Charles appears to be having similar struggles with these regs and hasn't had the validation, but with Fred's Ferrari looking very strong he should have ample opportunity to prove himself in the years to come.

At least the "LH = Merc-merchant" crowd can pipe down.

[Brahmal]

Discrete aero changes isn't going to change straight line performance like that.

This case is a little different imo. The front wheels induce a very large proportion of overall drag, and it's partly the FW endplate's job to manage that. They have made wholesale changes to their endplate furniture, going from one of the simplest designs to one of the most complex and developed. I think it is having a relatively big impact on the overall drag level, maybe not all but much.

[djones]

I’ve seen videos comparing the laps and Mercedes were faster on the straights. It might not have been peak speed but their acceleration was still better at the higher end.

Not as much as in previous races though.

If I had to bet I’d say it’s 30% aero upgrades and 70% Mercedes losing the compression trick.

[woocasz]

"Ferrari seems to have outwitted the competition; the Mercedes team believe that in Friday’s fastest lap, the car had 10–15 kg more fuel than usual.
But regardless of today’s result, the positive thing is that the two updates brought so far have improved the SF-26 by a total of six tenths of a second. "

via Duchessa

holy sh!t
Ferrari, you've really impressed me now.

With an upgraded engine in Austria, we can confidently compete for the win...

[214270]

"Ferrari seems to have outwitted the competition; the Mercedes team believe that in Friday’s fastest lap, the car had 10–15 kg more fuel than usual.
But regardless of today’s result, the positive thing is that the two updates brought so far have improved the SF-26 by a total of six tenths of a second. "

via Duchessa

holy sh!t
Ferrari, you've really impressed me now.

With an upgraded engine in Austria, we can confidently compete for the win...

Why, because of quali performance? Let’s wait and see how it looks in-race first. I suspect HAM won’t stick with the Mercs, such is their devastating race pace.

[Farnborough]

Discrete aero changes isn't going to change straight line performance like that.

This case is a little different imo. The front wheels induce a very large proportion of overall drag, and it's partly the FW endplate's job to manage that. They have made wholesale changes to their endplate furniture, going from one of the simplest designs to one of the most complex and developed. I think it is having a relatively big impact on the overall drag level, maybe not all but much.

I agree with this, in that the airflow approach to both front and rear tyre position has been modified for this weekend. It looks to have been aimed at reduction of straight on airflow toward tyre contact area, together with more consistency around dealing with that need by better integration of the redirection in making aero platform less sensitive to wider variation in speed/yaw etc.

We could be seeing more extent of inverted rear wing in SLM too, with fast corner entry to the long front straight, then enough distance/time in building to ultimate max velocity (unlike we've seen prior to this track) that could be making that contribution here.
The observation (above ?) of how the speed builds vs MB suggesting less potent deployment but reduced drag from Ferrari in this particular section of track.

[edu2703]

It doesn't seem like a good strategy to use soft tires today.

[djones]

This soft start will backfire for sure.

Yep…. Failed by not getting into 1st

[edu2703]

I'm already getting my hopes up about Hamilton winning.

[bananapeel23]

Leclerc so unlucky with that pit stop timing. Would’ve been in contention for a podium.