After the summer break, Ferrari returned to the track at Zandvoort with a fresh breeze. The Maranello squad immediately introduced a new floor and diffuser specification for the SF-26, marking the start of a new phase in the car's development this season.
The package brought to the Netherlands wasn't the full upgrade originally planned. Ferrari chose to split the development program, bringing forward solutions that were mature enough while allowing more time for the lateral section of the floor edge. As a result, the floor used at Zandvoort was mainly revised around the front floor boards and the diffuser.
According to The Race's understanding, the revised lateral floor edge will arrive later in the season, with a window stretching from Baku in late September to Austin a month later. The exact introduction date is still to be decided.
Overall, the Zandvoort package is estimated to be worth around 0.15 seconds per lap. This isn't a transformation, but another refinement of the SF-26's aerodynamic platform, building on the floor evolution introduced at Barcelona in mid-June—after which Ferrari won two of the next three grands prix.
However, results have been harder to come by since the Silverstone win in July. Now Ferrari comes to Monza with a degree of title hope, especially for Lewis Hamilton, and somewhat in need of home success. To maximize their chances, here's what they're doing.
Monza Package is More Than Just a Wing Trim
The Italian Grand Prix is inevitably one of the races Ferrari places particular emphasis on, but this year the technical significance of its home event goes beyond Monza's traditional importance to Maranello.
On paper, the circuit's characteristics could play more to the strengths of the Mercedes- and Red Bull-powered cars. Monza's long full-throttle sections put a premium on outright power and energy management, while aerodynamic efficiency remains crucial. It's not simply a question of how much power is available, but how much downforce a car can retain for a given level of drag.
That makes finding the right configuration for the SF-26 particularly important. And this is where Ferrari's work on the floor takes on a second purpose. With active aerodynamics and the extensive use of straight-line mode, the compromise required for Monza could be less extreme than it has historically been.
The Italian circuit has traditionally been associated with the lowest-downforce wing configurations of the season, but The Race understands Ferrari has taken a somewhat less conventional approach in its search for low drag in 2026. The rear wing will naturally form part of the circuit-specific adaptation, but it is not where all of Ferrari's work has been focused.
A high-downforce specification was introduced in Hungary, some elements of which—including the rear wing—will be re-evaluated at Monza. This shows Ferrari isn't just relying on the wing to reduce drag, but also on the new floor characteristics. In other words, Monza will be a real test of whether the development direction taken since Barcelona is on the right track.
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