Ferrari’s long-awaited engine upgrade arrives at Monza beneath red smoke, screaming grandstands and the crushing weight of home expectation. Every missing horsepower echoes through the trees here. This weekend, Ferrari brings 15 more of them.
The timing could hardly feel sharper. Cars spend roughly 80% of the lap at full throttle, then brake from around 350 kilometers per hour into the first chicane. Weaknesses have nowhere to hide. A hesitant throttle costs tenths, but a straight-line deficit can cost the race.
Ferrari has revised the combustion chamber and turbocharger inside its 067/7 power unit. Shell has also developed a new fuel for the package. Engineers expect the combined changes to cut roughly half the gap to Mercedes while improving how the car delivers torque and electrical energy.
For Maranello, this goes beyond a technical tweak. Ferrari sits second in the constructors’ championship and has missed the podium at two consecutive races. Everyone in the paddock now faces the same question: Can 15 horsepower turn Ferrari’s most obvious weakness into a home victory?
Hamilton felt the deficit before the dyno confirmed it
The SF-26 has already shown where it can fight. Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc led a practice session each around Monaco’s tight streets. Leclerc later won at Silverstone, with Hamilton completing the podium in third.
Zandvoort provided another clue. Ferrari lacked one-lap speed, leaving Hamilton fifth and Leclerc sixth on the grid. Over a race distance, however, both drivers closed on the Mercedes pair. Hamilton finished less than one second behind George Russell, while Leclerc crossed the line only 1.3 seconds from the podium.
Through loaded corners, the SF-26 produces strong front-end grip and stable braking performance. Its race pace also holds up better than its qualifying speed. The damage arrives when the track straightens.
Hamilton estimated that Mercedes gained around four-tenths of a second on the straight at Zandvoort. Ferrari could claw some of that time back through the corners. Once the drivers opened the steering wheel and buried the throttle, the Mercedes disappeared again.
That disadvantage shaped Ferrari’s entire race. Hamilton needed a clean strategic window to chase Russell, his former teammate and Antonelli’s current Mercedes partner. Instead, Ferrari left him behind Leclerc for an extra lap despite their different tire strategies.
The delay cost several seconds. Hamilton never recovered them.
More power will strengthen his attack on Monza’s long straights. Crucially, it should also reduce the need for desperate braking moves. Yet the upgrade cannot make decisions for the pit wall. When an undercut window opens, Ferrari can no longer afford to hesitate.
Strategy explained why Hamilton missed the podium. It did not explain why he had to recover so much time through the corners before he could attack. For that, the FIA’s engine data supplied a colder diagnosis.
The FIA data behind Hamilton’s frustration
Hamilton gave Ferrari’s deficit a human voice at Zandvoort. The FIA’s latest assessment put a number on the underlying problem.
Ferrari’s internal combustion engine ranked more than 4% behind the benchmark, earning Maranello two additional homologation upgrades for 2026. The first major response now comes at Monza.
The review also produced a strange headline. Red Bull Powertrains topped the combustion benchmark, even though Mercedes has dominated the championship.
That apparent contradiction comes from the test itself. The Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities system measures combustion performance, not an entire car. It does not account for chassis balance, active aerodynamics, or how effectively a team turns electrical energy into lap time.
Red Bull leads that narrow measurement but has lost performance elsewhere. Mercedes has assembled the stronger total package, combining efficient deployment with a balanced chassis.
Ferrari must now close its measured engine deficit without sacrificing the qualities that made the SF-26 competitive in the first place.
What Ferrari changed inside the 067/7
Ferrari’s work centers on combustion. Engineers have reshaped the chamber and revised the turbocharger, chasing a stronger burn and greater output without compromising durability.
The projected gain stands at roughly 15 horsepower. That will not transform the SF-26 into a rocket overnight, but Monza can magnify even a modest increase. Over repeated acceleration zones, a few extra kilometers per hour can decide whether Leclerc reaches the braking zone beside a Mercedes or directly behind it.
New fuel from Shell completes the combustion package. Fuel development carries greater influence than its modest billing suggests. A cleaner, more controlled burn can improve power, efficiency, and reliability at once.
Ferrari’s engineers did not rush the unit straight from a design screen to the garage. The new specification had to survive the equivalent of six race weekends on the dyno. A single reliability failure would have restarted the validation run and likely delayed its debut.
That threat nearly pushed the upgrade beyond Monza. Maranello’s mandatory summer shutdown compressed the testing schedule, while strict limits reduced available dyno time. Engineers eventually cleared the unit after repeated endurance runs.
Ferrari is not rolling the dice here. Its engine department has wrung every useful number from the test benches. Now the 067/7 must survive kerbs, heat, vibration, and 53 laps at racing load.
The real gain may come from torque delivery
Peak horsepower will dominate the headlines. Inside the cockpit, torque delivery and electrical deployment may matter more.
The 2026 power units draw close to half their output from electrical energy. Drivers harvest power under braking, store it, then release it across the lap. If the battery reaches its deployment limit too early, the car begins clipping before the braking zone. Acceleration flattens while rivals continue pulling.
Hamilton and Leclerc have felt that fade on long straights throughout the season. The revised unit should distribute torque more smoothly and stretch electrical assistance deeper into each acceleration zone.
At Monza, that means carrying deployment farther toward the braking points at Ascari and Rettifilo. Leclerc should spend less time watching the shift lights flatten while a Mercedes edges away. Hamilton should have more freedom to save energy in traffic, then release it when an overtaking chance appears.
Ferrari will pair the engine with a lower-drag version of its unusual rotating rear-wing concept. Track-specific bodywork and possible exhaust adjustments will further reduce resistance.
That combination presents its own risk. Strip away too much rear load, and the SF-26 could become nervous under braking. Monza requires drivers to attack the pedal with frightening force, particularly at the opening chicane. A car that reaches the braking zone faster must also remain stable when the rear axle goes light.
The stopwatch will judge the compromise. Speed-trap numbers alone will not.
Two drivers carry different pressures into Monza
Hamilton arrives with a championship opportunity. He has 183 points, level with Russell and 59 behind Antonelli. The seven-time champion already owns one Ferrari victory after breaking Mercedes’ early winning streak in Barcelona.
Monza could drag him closer. Antonelli faces at least a 10-place grid penalty after exceeding his permitted power-unit allocation. A complete engine change could send the Mercedes championship leader to the back row.
Ferrari cannot waste that opening.
Hamilton also understands Monza better than most. He has won there five times and produced Formula 1’s fastest qualifying lap at the circuit in 2020. Yet this will feel different. Winning in red would place him at the center of a celebration he once experienced only as Ferrari’s rival.
Leclerc carries the heavier emotional memory. In 2024, he made a set of hard tires last 38 laps while McLaren committed to two stops. The gamble delivered victory by 2.664 seconds and sent thousands of supporters pouring onto the main straight.
That afternoon remains Ferrari’s modern Monza blueprint. Leclerc did not possess the fastest car. He had enough speed, flawless tire control, and a pit wall willing to commit.
This year’s power-unit upgrade could give him a stronger weapon. Ferrari must supply the same conviction.
Monza will expose more than an engine
Ferrari heads home with 338 constructors’ points, two Grand Prix victories, and a car capable of fighting near the front. None of those numbers will soften the reaction if Mercedes and McLaren pull away down Monza’s straights.
The new engine removes an excuse. If the predicted gain appears on track, Hamilton and Leclerc should qualify closer to the front. Better deployment should protect them in attack and defense. Antonelli’s penalty should also leave valuable championship points exposed.
Yet Monza will examine much more than horsepower. Ferrari still needs a clean qualifying session after failing to take a Grand Prix pole through the opening 12 rounds. The strategists must react immediately when tire behavior changes. Mechanics must execute under the noise and heat of the most demanding pit lane they enter all year.
Fifteen horsepower cannot cure strategic indecision. It cannot prevent traffic from qualifying or keep a driver from locking a front tire into Rettifilo. More power simply raises the price of every other mistake.
Friday will reveal the first clues. Engineers will study terminal speeds, clipping points, and rear stability. Hamilton will test how deeply the electrical boost carries him down the main straight. Leclerc will learn whether he can trim the wing without losing confidence through Ascari.
By Sunday, the technical language will disappear. The Tifosi will see only red cars against silver and papaya rivals, surging toward the first chicane.
Ferrari has spent months waiting for more power. Now that power has arrived at the one circuit where Maranello cannot hide from what happens next.
READ MORE: Russell and Antonelli FIA Penalties Before Monaco Ruling
FAQs
How much horsepower will Ferrari’s Monza engine upgrade add?
Ferrari expects the revised 067/7 power unit to add roughly 15 horsepower at Monza.
What has Ferrari changed in its upgraded F1 engine?
Ferrari revised the combustion chamber and turbocharger, added new Shell fuel, and adjusted torque delivery to improve electrical deployment.
Why was Ferrari allowed to upgrade its engine?
The FIA measured Ferrari’s combustion engine to be more than 4% behind the benchmark, earning Maranello two extra 2026 homologation upgrades.
Why does the Ferrari engine upgrade matter so much at Monza?
Cars spend roughly 80% of each lap at full throttle, so power and energy deployment heavily influence lap time.
What grid penalty will Kimi Antonelli receive at Monza?
Antonelli faces at least a 10-place grid penalty. A complete power-unit change could send the Mercedes driver to the back row.
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