Ferrari has elected to use its Formula 1 filming days in April after the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix to claw back deficit to Mercedes.
The Maranello-based squad has started off the 2026 campaign in fine trim, securing back-to-back podium finishes in the opening two races of the season so far.
In fact, the Chinese GP, last weekend, saw Lewis Hamilton finally break his Ferrari duck with his maiden podium finish for the iconic Italian marque after the 56-lap race.
That said, the SF-26 is still not quite a match for Mercedes – with Charles Leclerc estimating Ferrari to be at least five-tenths off the pace of the W17 in race trim.
But the gap to Mercedes, despite being substantial is no write-off and Ferrari have used the incumbent situation to its benefit, as per reports.
The ongoing conflict in the Middle-East has led to the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian races, scheduled in April.
This means teams will have a five week gap between the Japanese GP, in March and the Miami GP in May. Ferrari has elected to exhaust its filming days in the interregnum.
As per the Sporting Regulations, all the 11 teams are allowed two filming days in a calendar year with a total of 400 kilometers of mileage allowed spread evenly over the two days.
While no venue has been confirmed as of now, reports suggest that Monza is likely where the SF-26 will be put through its paces.
Hamilton details area Ferrari needs to catch up to Mercedes
While the filming days are utilised for the teams’ sponsors, valuable data is something no F1 team shies away from, and Ferrari would be no different.
Hamilton has given a handy insight into what the Scuderia might actually be focusing on when taking to the track with the SF-26 in April.
Talking about the W17, the seven-time World Champion highlighted how most of Mercedes’ advantage over Ferrari is on the straights – and more particularly, in terms of battery deployment.
“It seems mostly on straight,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“It seems more so when they open up the ESM – that’s when they take a huge step, so whatever’s going in that phase is an area we need to understand.
“They seem to have a little bit more deployment, so less de-rating at the end of the straights than some of us.
“So we’ve just got to work on trying to see how we can eke out more from our engine.”
This early on-set ‘Spring Break’ might be crucial to Ferrari’s title ambitions in 2026, and more importantly for the competitive landscape of F1 in its latest era.
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