Charles Leclerc sends Ferrari warning as rivals outdevelop SF-26 upgrades
Ferrari's Miami upgrades worked, but rivals did a slightly better job with theirs, says Charles Leclerc
Ferrari brought the most upgrades of any team to the Miami Grand Prix and Charles Leclerc confirmed that the “package is working.”
However, Leclerc concedes that the packages brought by rivals were “probably a little bit better” after a P6 and P8 result for the Scuderia.
Ferrari upgrades worked but rivals improved more in Miami
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Ferrari, though, has “other things coming soon” as part of what Leclerc says will be a fierce development battle in F1 2026, one which he warns Ferrari must be “perfect” in to keep pace.
As Formula 1 returned from its impromptu April break in Miami, a raft of upgrades, up and down the grid, were expected.
That is exactly what happened, and with 11 updates to its SF-26, Ferrari led the way.
However, rather than Ferrari stepping up as the team to beat, Miami brought a degree of convergence between the front-running teams.
Max Verstappen, in an improved Red Bull RB22, came closest to ending Mercedes’ 100 per cent pole position record in F1 2026.
Leclerc would lead the opening stages of the Miami GP, before Antonelli and McLaren’s Lando Norris took over as the contenders for victory.
Leclerc was unable to keep pace with that duo and, not helped by a spin heading onto his final lap, was restricted to sixth.
That became eighth due to a 20-second post-race penalty, the stewards determining that Leclerc had left the track and gained an advantage multiple times in his damaged Ferrari after that spin.
But while Miami did not quite go to plan for Ferrari, Leclerc assured that the Scuderia has more to come. He stressed the importance of keeping pace with rivals in development in what are still early days with the new generation F1 car.
“The upgrade package is working,” Leclerc told PlanetF1.com and other media outlets in Miami.
“The thing is, others are pushing as well, and probably their upgrade package was a little bit better.
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“We’ve got other things coming soon, and hopefully that will help us to get back a little bit in front.
“It’s fine details, but with this generation of cars, especially on this first year, it will all be about the development.
“So we have to make sure we do everything perfect in terms of development.”
Following the race, Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur confirmed that the SF-26 upgrades “worked as expected” and highlighted “consistency, managing traffic and extracting the full potential of the package” as areas where Ferrari shall look to improve moving forward.
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher
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