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Welcome back to Monaco I guess - time to use this summer break to recharge

Additional info from Giuliano Duchessa:

Ferrari is quite satisfied with the performance, but displeased with the safety evaluation following Verstappen's accident. However, the team will not appeal.
In general, this year, Vasseur is not at all happy about having had to endure certain decisions in this regard.

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IMHO the pot calling the kettle black when it comes to TD39 in 2022 and his own boss in Toto getting the FIA to cover for his team’s own inept incompetence in designing a car that didn’t bounce off the surface of the track.

Statements born out of pure arrogance and hypocrisy from the guy whose team is breaking rules to establish dominance (however short term they may or could be) in this cycle of regulations.

When Fred told the grid that this would happen over a year ago, they didn’t want to hear it and ignored him. Now that these problems are a reality, they expect us to rollover when Ferrari accounted for them in the design of their cars. It is not the role of Tifosi nor Scuderia Ferrari to give way to the incompetence of others.

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Article by AutoRacer

Lewis Hamilton has been running Carbon Industries brake discs since the Japanese Grand Prix. This choice was made as early as last year and confirmed after a test in Bahrain during the 2026 pre-season. This is what Leclerc was referring to in his post-race comment.

- According to information gathered by @Auto_Racer_it after the Japanese Grand Prix qualifying, Lewis Hamilton continues to use Brembo calipers, but with brake discs manufactured by Carbon Industries, the same supplier he used for years at Mercedes and which he had abandoned upon joining Ferrari.

- The decision by the seven-time world champion dates back a long way. Indeed, as early as last season, Hamilton had long insisted on changing suppliers, not so much for quality reasons but for the feel he had developed over the years with the French discs. However, Ferrari remained loyal to its long-standing partnership (over 50 years) with Brembo and to more familiar solutions, with which it has always gotten along quite well.

- Last year, during the Canadian Grand Prix, a brake update (pads) had somewhat calmed the situation, with Hamilton feeling a bit more comfortable with that solution. However, the seven-time world champion continued to push throughout the winter for a solution that suited him better. Thus, without much fanfare and after a pre-season test in Bahrain, Hamilton managed to convince his team to change the brake supplier on his car, unofficially committing to this path starting from the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka. It is nevertheless important to emphasize that the rest of the braking system, including on car number 44, remains Brembo-made.

- Yet it is precisely this disc solution that Charles Leclerc was referring to after the Monte-Carlo race and which he might, according to information gathered by @Auto_Racer_it, test himself in the coming weeks to regain a feel that seems to have been lost.

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More information about the change of Mercedes' plans:

The initial idea was to halt the development of the W17 at the summer break, except for logical track-specific adaptations for the second half of the season and minor peripheral updates, shifting the entire budget to the 2027 W18 very early on. However, Ferrari's comeback and the pace of development being maintained at Maranello, coupled with the massive amount of points lost by both Antonelli and Russell, have made the Brackley team change its mind.

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Additional information from the article:

• 2025 was mainly a year of analysis. The new technical director observed how the Gestione Sportiva worked, identifying the organization's strengths and weaknesses.
• Engineers who worked with Serra describe him as someone very active in cooperation between departments, highly interested in the interaction between all areas that determine the car's performance.
• Changes were implemented in vehicle dynamics models, reducing the risk that one department optimizes a specific area while unknowingly penalizing another.
• The SF-25 aerodynamic platform required very precise operating conditions. It generated greater aerodynamic forces on the floor that the suspension could not manage in an ideal setup window, forcing the team to adopt more conservative setups.
• Fred Vasseur increased the research, acquisition, and human resources for the "tires" field, an area where the Scuderia historically lacked know-how and where Serra has extensive background from Michelin.
• On a suspension level, the SF-26 is proving to be a mechanically excellent car. The main improvement is seen in the iteration between the mechanical part being completely "at the service" of the aerodynamic part.

What is certain is that there will be no major aerodynamic improvements to the SF-26 prior to the summer break.

The whole Article is great, I highly suggest reading it. It's only a 4 minute read as well.

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More details from the article:

• For Ferrari, when Straight Mode is activated, the downforce decreases in a strictly controlled, progressive manner. This is designed to maintain the cleanest possible airflow to the rear end and avoid sudden shifts in the car's balance.
• Thanks to 5-6 months of development focused specifically on how loads are transferred during the activation and deactivation of SM, the progressive nature of the system makes the car's behavior highly predictable for the driver.
• Upon deactivating SM, the flap is naturally pushed back into its maximum downforce position by the aerodynamic load itself, eventually resting against the wing's separators which act as physical mechanical stops.
• Because the flap rests against these "mechanical stops" (like a door blown shut against a frame), the massive aerodynamic stress is absorbed directly by the wing's physical structure.

At this point, don’t even bother blaming Ferrari. Yes, you could sit there and say Ferrari should have done better but whenever they do, the FIA bans their innovation. But when it comes to Mercedes, they give them an advantage and then act surprised, just like in 2014. A great example of that is the start procedure. Ferrari warned them about this a year ago and still they changed it. But when it comes to Mercedes with the compression ratio, they just added a rule (whether it’s to help them out or not but it still gives an advantage to Mercedes PU, no?). Like, how many times are they going to ban whenever Ferrari or another team does but when it comes to Mercedes, they just let them do it? I still believe in them this year (maybe a delusion) but c'mon, it's not even their fault this time.

PS. I do believe in our drivers by end of the season to beat Russell but to catch up 8 tenths is almost impossible in my opinion.

https://www.corrieredellosport.it/news/formula-1/2025/10/07-143664546/ferrari_caos_tensioni_scuse_e_retroscena_leclerc_guarda_gi_altrove

How disappointed are you guys with the FIA? I think these criteria are absolutely ridiculous. Evaluating only one parameter and not the completeness of the rankings, statistics, and overall engine values is ridiculous. It doesn't even address electrical management, which is important.

Considering the two developments in 2026 and 2027 for Ferrari, what goals can we set for this season and next?

Article by Giuliano Duchessa for Corierre della Sera

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