Lewis Hamilton F1 title boost as Ferrari engine upgrade could close gap to Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton sprays champagne on the F1 podium — Photo: © IMAGO

Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton F1 title boost as Ferrari engine upgrade targets Mercedes

Ferrari have an engine upgrade coming

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Tuesday 23 June 2026 11:00

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Ferrari's latest upgrade could really put them in contention for the F1 drivers' title in 2026, according to reports in Italian media.

The Maranello-based outfit are believed to have one of the best chassis on the grid this year, but their power unit is letting them down, not as strong as the Mercedes or Red Bull power units.

This is providing them difficulty when trying to consistently compete with the Mercedes and McLaren teams, but recent performances from their seven-time world champion driver Lewis Hamilton has thrown them into the fight for a first championship title of any kind since 2008.

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Hamilton claimed back-to-back second-place finishes in Canada and Monaco before a victory at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, and is now second in the drivers' championship, just 41 points behind Mercedes' championship leader Kimi Antonelli.

And now, it's been revealed that Ferrari could have an upgrade on the way which would help them more consistently fight for race victories.

The recent additional development and upgrade opportunities (ADUO) ruling from the FIA confirmed that Ferrari would get two homologations as a result of being between two and four per cent behind the fastest power unit on the grid (Red Bull-Ford's power unit).

Now, Gazzetta are reporting that their first power unit upgrade is coming this weekend, ready for the Austrian Grand Prix.

Ferrari immediately helped by ADUO ruling?

The above publication are reporting that Ferrari have ensured that their first power unit upgrade is ready for the race weekend at the Red Bull Ring because they have highlighted Austria, Silverstone and Belgium as crucial races, where energy management and raw power will be key.

They state that Ferrari's simulation data is telling them that the new power unit upgrade will give them significant enough extra horsepower to eliminate the current two/three-tenth gaps that we see between Mercedes and Ferrari in many qualifying sessions.

This, coupled with the fact that Mercedes are struggling with reliability issues, could prove to be crucial as Hamilton attempts to chase down a record-breaking eighth drivers' championship in 2026.

Lando Norris said in Barcelona that Ferrari were close to 'embarrassing' the rest of the teams, if they had a better power unit, claiming their SF-26 chassis is the 'class of the field'.