Ferrari Drivers’ Championship? SF-26 is ‘good car but not a world championship car’

Former Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo says Ferrari’s F1 2026 car, the SF-26, is good, it’s just not good enough to win a title based on the results of the opening two grands prix.

Although Ferrari has been the only team to join Mercedes on the podium in F1’s new technical era, the Scuderia has been P3 behind George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, who have traded positions.

Luca di Montezemolo doubts Ferrari SF-26 title chances

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The Ferrari teammates have also traded positions with Charles Leclerc third in Australia, ahead of Hamilton, before Hamilton got the better of his teammate in China to record his first podium in Ferrari red.

It means that two weekends into the season, Russell leads the standings on 51 points, four ahead of Antonelli, while Leclerc in third is 17 points off the pace.

But in the teams’ classification, the log that pays the prize money, Ferrari is on 67 points to Mercedes’ 98.

Mercedes’ W17, the chassis and engine, has emerged as the car to beat, with the pole-sitting W17 comfortably quicker than the nearest non-Mercedes.

Russell was 15 seconds up the road from Leclerc at the Australian Grand Prix, while Antonelli was 25 seconds clear of third-placed Hamilton in China.

F1 2026: Numbers that matter

F1 2026 championship standings after China

F1 2026: Head-to-head race statistics between teammates

It has former Ferrari man di Montezemolo, who first joined the Scuderia in 1974 before walking away in 2014, declaring the SF-26 is a good car, but not a championship-winning car.

In fact, he doesn’t even see the Mercedes v Ferrari battle going down to the line in Abu Dhabi.

“I’m sorry, at least from what the start of the season has shown, to see that it has a good car but not a world championship car,” he told Corriere dello Sport.

“The thing that hurts me the most is that in the last ten years, it have never made it to the last race to fight in the Drivers’ title.

“In my day, we lost 11 championships at the last one. I remember them as punches in the stomach, but we were there to play for it.”

But aside from the potential of a one-sided championship, this year’s new cars, and more specifically their engines with their 50/50 combustion and battery split, have divided the drivers, team principals and fans.

While some are thoroughly enjoying the wheel-to-wheel action, others are pointing out that it is based on battery power.

Asked for his thoughts, di Montezemolo biggest concern was the gap between Mercedes and the chasing pack.

“The gap is quite disconcerting, but the teams chasing can grow and there will be long stops. Maybe it’s not so obvious,” he said.

As for the racing, “F1 must innovate without losing its essence. When I see a driver who instead of overtaking waits to recharge the battery, I am perplexed. But I would wait before making a final judgment.”

Pressed on whether he would’ve built an “electric Red”, the 78-year-old bluntly replied: “Not even under medication.”

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