Has Ferrari’s start to the season been disappointing?

Ferrari, glass half full or half empty? After four races of this 2026, Ferrari has added 110 points and is second in the constructors’ championship, 70 points away from leader Mercedes. Two third places came with Charles Leclerc and one with Lewis Hamilton, but the SF-26 has still never started on the front row. Finally, in the two Sprints Leclerc obtained a second and a third place, while Hamilton another third.
The “package and a half of updates” announced for Miami did not give the hoped-for boost compared to their opponents, the drivers never miss an opportunity to underline the horsepower deficit of the current power unit, Hamilton underlined how the settings decided on the simulator did not work on the track. Is what we’ve seen so far enough to judge Ferrari’s start to the championship as disappointing? Which aspect in particular can be considered disappointing?
wanted to ask Pino Allievi – a prestigious figure in motorsport and our magazine – and Francesco Cigarini – in Maranello for over 20 years and present on Instagram and YouTube. Pino Allievi: “I expected more from the updates, but the ADUO…” “Nothing about the Ferrari disappointed me, if anything I was surprised by the many ideas, later copied by others, that I saw in the SF26, a car with excellent behavior on the track. I expected more from the first evolutionary step seen in Miami, yes. Instead, in Miami it was noticed how the developments brought by others, including Alpine, were more effective in terms of performance. The choice of the type of Power Unit was made jointly by all the Scuderia’s technical staff and it is therefore not the case now that we should prosecute Mr. Gualtieri’s working group. We will understand an error of judgment in the next three races and therefore I will refrain from making any judgments. As for the ADUO, I am very much against a rule that goes against the values of the team sports.” Francesco Cigarini: “It will be a disappointment if development is not aggressive and effective” “To date there is no particular element that has disappointed me.
If you look at the route compared to last year, the car is more competitive, it has peculiarities that put it at the top in some situations, they have brought updates and technical ideas to the track that the other teams have noticed and brought to their cars to update them. So the flow of ideas seems to be unblocked and in some areas they are the reference.
It will disappoint me if he does not continue to develop aggressively and effectively, because at that point he will lose competitiveness and contact with the top of the table.” We also invite you readers to tell us yours – compatibly with the 200 character limit in the comments (I personally reported the complaints, be kind…) -: is it too early to be disappointed by Ferrari’s start to 2026? Click here to add Formula Passion as your favorite source on Google Discover: you will find our content more easily!

Automobile Magazine – F1 English News , 2026-05-17 16:00:00