Key figures in the Ferrari technical team have revealed that it has worked relentlessly during Formula 1‘s enforced five-week break in a bid to improve its package upon the season’s resumption.
The Maranello-based squad has begun the season with far more promise than it achieved in 2025, in which it scored no wins and a modest total of seven podium finishes.
Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton have, for the most part, seemed more closely-matched, and the Englishman’s podium in China was his first for the team, supplemented by two fellow third-place finishes from the Monegasque in Australia and Japan.
But the reality is that the team, despite its SF-26’s commendable attributes, is still lagging behind leaders Mercedes, which leads both championships, with Oscar Piastri’s second place in Suzuka also showing McLaren has also improved.
Amid two tests at its private Fiorano test track [for Pirelli] and Monza – in which upgrades such as its existing ‘Macarena wing’ was thought to be re-tested – the technical staff has been beavering away to ensure it has the best possible chance of returning to winning ways from the Miami Grand Prix onwards.
“Having more time available has allowed us to delve deeper into our analysis,” its Technical Director Loic Serra told Motorsport.com. “Because you aren’t immediately faced with a new flood of data from the next race. You can afford to linger longer, to go into the details.”
Practice makes perfect – Ferrari to catch up on pitstop training
Sporting Director Diego Ioverno explained that the Ferrari schedule would always have been this busy, but has been rejigging its workflow along with the inclusion of further productivity.
“What break? There was no break at all,” he joked. “We simply chose not to let it become one. We filled the weeks with activities that weren’t planned, or we distributed the ones that were already planned more effectively.”
Ioverno additionally revealed that further pitstop practice has been required due to being behind on its initial training programmes, and was thankful that the crew have performed admirably despite that.
“Let me start by taking a step back,” he said. “Fortunately, the results haven’t shown it, but we arrived at this year’s first race with fewer training sessions than in previous seasons. The testing season was too intense; we started testing in the week when we would typically be in our third week of training.
“In the two weeks prior, we worked day and night shifts, so we only managed a third of the pitstops we had planned.”
Ioverno concluded: “There isn’t a single race where the pitstop crew is the same as the previous one, so this month’s unexpected break has been a godsend.
“We’ve been able to catch up on the sessions we weren’t able to do in January and February.”
For Ferrari, no stone can be left unturned in terms of working to close the gap to Mercedes, especially with McLaren now hot on its heels.
If its upgrades have been tested and perfected, then what chance will it bring of wins being on the cards?
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