The state of play at Ferrari after three rounds of the 2026 season

Ferrari have started 2026 in fine style, with three podiums from the first three races. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton have both led at times too, as the Scuderia attempt to take on Mercedes with their fast-starting SF-26. But can they back up those fast starts with wins going forward? Here is the state of play at Ferrari…

How has the 2026 season gone so far?

You would have to argue that Ferrari have had a positive start to the year. They looked strong at the Barcelona Shakedown, with limited reliability woes, and all eyes were on their starts too after Bahrain pre-season testing, which looked rapid.

They proved to be just that, Leclerc fighting for the lead in Melbourne from fourth on the grid, as Hamilton made up places too. Although the Monegasque driver fell back through the first sequence of pit stops, he still finished on the podium just ahead of his team mate.

Hamilton was the stronger of the two in Shanghai, grabbing his first Grand Prix podium with Ferrari since joining the team at the start of 2025. He also led the race in China, but could not hold his former team at bay with Kimi Antonelli and George Russell getting past the seven-time World Champion.

That led to an epic intra-team battle between Hamilton and Leclerc for the final podium place, with multiple overtakes that left many in the paddock distracted from watching their own drivers compete.

Moving on to Japan, Leclerc was back on top as he grabbed third from fourth on the grid, although this time he did not manage to lead the race from that starting slot. Hamilton faded slightly with worn out tyres, losing out to Lando Norris to come home sixth.

But those results, plus a second for Leclerc and a third for Hamilton in the Sprint in Shanghai, mean Ferrari are Mercedes’ closest rivals so far in 2026, albeit already 45 points in arrears.

Reasons to be hopeful

Ferrari have the best starts on the grid – of that, there is no doubt. As long as Leclerc and Hamilton qualify somewhere near the front, they will be in the fight for the lead. All they have to do now is work out a way to keep Mercedes behind once they get out in front.

Hamilton has gelled with this car much better than last year’s, and is already pushing Leclerc close and beating him at times, which points to Ferrari having two cars in the fight week in, week out.

And Leclerc himself is showing every sign of picking up where he left off in 2025, being quick over one lap and feisty on race days. Ferrari have two drivers ready and raring to deliver the wins – they just need to provide them with a car to do so.

Reasons to be cautious

Ferrari’s power unit is delivering in some areas, but not all. They seem to lack some straight line speed, but are stronger through the corners. It is a good unit, but not quite on the pace of the Mercedes PU just yet.

With McLaren starting to fight back, Ferrari could also find themselves bumped to the third row of the grid, taking away some of that advantage at the start, which makes it harder to keep the pressure on Mercedes.

There was also a questionable strategic decision in Australia that seemed to let Mercedes off the hook, when Ferrari opted not to pit under an early VSC like their rivals. They need to nail every aspect of their race weekend, strategy included, if they want to fight with the Silver Arrows and win their first Constructors’ title since 2008.

What have the drivers and team bosses said?

“These new cars are really fun to race, it’s all about tactics and energy deployment, and you can really play with that to get ahead of your competitors,” explained Leclerc after his entertaining battle with his team mate in China.

Hamilton agreed, calling the Shanghai Grand Prix: “One of the most enjoyable races I’ve had in years, with hard but fair battles, especially with Charles.”

He was not quite so positive in the wake of Japan though, stating that he “didn’t have the pace to compete.”

“I think [Japan] was good for Formula 1 and good for the championship, as it was an exciting show,” added Vasseur. “There was much more overtaking than we had at this track in the past.

“We know that we have to push, we have to work to develop the car… We know we have a deficit in terms of straight-line performance and we will work on that over the next weeks.”

What do Ferrari need to work on going forwards?

Straight-line speed, as Vasseur said, is their current weakness. With Active Aero being deployed on the straights, it makes sorting that aspect slightly more complex this year to work out if the problem is with the engine, the aero package or both.

Fix that, and Ferrari will be a force to be reckoned with, as their cornering speed is already strong and their aforementioned starts are highly impressive – not to mention having a very, very decent driver line-up.