The high expectations on Ferrari at Monza
The level of expectations on Ferrari was far too high and not only because the Monza race is the home race, but also and above all because of the track debut of the highly anticipated ADUO-2 engine, the one with which the Cavallino fans legitimately hoped to see two SF-26 finally really fighting on equal (or almost) terms with the home rivals Mercedes and McLaren. Obviously, this was not the case, and after the race Frederic Vasseur both admitted that the Italian GP was considered even before the start – despite the collective intoxication in Piazza Duomo – the worst on the calendar, and that the team’s expectation was not at all to completely close the gap in terms of horsepower from the Mercedes power unit, especially not on such a demanding track as the Autodromo Nazionale.
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Charles Leclerc and the progress of the ADUO-2 engine
A topic also addressed by Charles Leclerc, who might have to forgo the updated power unit in Spain pending further checks, during Thursday’s GP press conferences at the Madring, where FormulaPassion.it was also present: “Did I expect better performance with the ADUO-2 engine than what we showed at Monza? No. Obviously, we always expect to make progress, but I think it’s a complicated situation because when you install a new engine at Monza, everyone expects a sudden huge leap forward. However, we went from Zandvoort, a circuit where the power unit didn’t have much influence, to Monza, where it had a lot of influence. So the progress was there and it was exactly what we expected, but as we said, we are still behind.”
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“The power gap of the engine – adds the Monegasque – was therefore wider at Monza than what we had at Zandvoort, but not because the engine is worse, but simply due to the characteristics of the track. So, I think we have made progress, but we still have to make more, 100%. We are aware of this and are working hard in this direction.” According to Frederic Vasseur, Ferrari’s goal is to close this performance gap from the Mercedes power unit with the ADUO development tokens available at the beginning of 2027.
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