Ferrari is already facing major pressure at the start of the 2026 Formula 1 season after falling 70 points behind Mercedes following just four grands prix. Although Ferrari currently sits second in the constructors’ standings with 110 points, the internal situation appears far more concerning than the championship position suggests.
Mercedes has immediately established a significant gap with 180 points, while McLaren is rapidly closing in on Ferrari with 94 points and could soon apply serious pressure in the standings. At the same time, Ferrari’s overall performance continues to fluctuate dramatically from race to race.
Charles Leclerc initially delivered encouraging results through podium finishes in Australia and Japan. However, his momentum was disrupted in Miami after spinning while fighting for another podium before later receiving a 20-second penalty for repeated track limits violations, dropping him to eighth.
Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton’s adaptation to Ferrari also remains far from smooth. The seven-time world champion opened his Ferrari career with a podium in Melbourne, but has since struggled to consistently unlock the potential of the SF-26.
The Miami Grand Prix became one of Hamilton’s most difficult weekends after early contact with Franco Colapinto left his car carrying damage throughout the race. Hamilton eventually finished sixth while fighting compromised performance conditions.
From a technical perspective, the SF-26 still demonstrates genuine competitiveness in specific situations, particularly over single laps and high-speed sectors. However, Ferrari has not yet found a consistently stable setup across varying circuit characteristics and changing tyre conditions throughout race weekends.
The consistency problem is also visible in Ferrari’s inability to maintain performance between qualifying, Sprint races, and the grands prix themselves. On several weekends, Ferrari has shown strong pace in one session before immediately losing rhythm during longer race stints because of tyre degradation and aerodynamic instability.
Statistically, Ferrari now trails Mercedes by almost 39 percent in total points scored. The gap already represents a major warning sign considering the season is only four races old and Mercedes has begun building strong momentum.
Ferrari’s situation is slightly softened by the poor start endured by Red Bull Racing, which has managed only 30 points because of performance and reliability problems. However, that scenario also increases the importance of Ferrari’s direct battle with Mercedes and McLaren in shaping the championship fight.
Team principal Fred Vasseur is now under growing pressure to accelerate Ferrari’s upcoming development package before the performance gap expands even further. Ferrari is understood to be preparing major aerodynamic and rear-end stability upgrades across the next phase of the season.
From a championship perspective, Ferrari still mathematically has sufficient time to recover. However, with Mercedes already looking dominant and McLaren continuing to improve rapidly, Ferrari’s margin for error is becoming increasingly small as Formula 1 enters a critical early phase of the 2026 campaign.
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