Lewis Hamilton gets major boost as Ferrari pull off genius F1 upgrade trick

Lewis Hamilton received a major boost after Ferrari's clever upgrade gamble appeared to pay off at the US Grand Prix.

While Ferrari's race strategy came under scrutiny yet again - this time over its starting tyre choice for the 56-lap race - the SF-26 itself appeared to take a significant step forward as Charles Leclerc finished second and Hamilton fourth.

It was one of the most promising races in recent weeks for the Scuderia, with a disappointing Q3 session on Saturday the only real failure.

More importantly, Ferrari's performance suggested that its latest upgrades had delivered exactly what engineers back at Maranello had hoped for, with the team appearing to unlock additional performance without making sweeping changes to the car.

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How Ferrari took a big step forward at COTA

According to respected Italian outlet Autoracer, the most significant change centred on the diffuser at the rear of the floor, where Ferrari revised the expansion ramp to alter how airflow develops as it exits beneath the car.

The team also made adjustments to the diffuser's internal vertical elements and upper-edge appendages, alongside refinements to the front section of the floor.

Rosario Giuliana reported that Ferrari's final major upgrade package of the season was designed to refine several areas of the car rather than fundamentally change its aerodynamic philosophy.

"The updates delivered what the simulations predicted," Giuliana wrote.

Why Ferrari's breakthrough is good news for Hamilton

For Hamilton, the encouraging correlation between Ferrari's simulation data and its on-track performance offers fresh hope that the Scuderia is finally finding answers after a frustrating second half of the season.

Further changes are expected this weekend in Mexico City, with the team reportedly set to make tweaks to their cooling system for Sunday's race at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

Ferrari remain in second place in the 2026 Constructors' standings, albeit a distant 133 points behind leaders Mercedes.

It is tight meanwhile between Hamilton and Leclerc in the Drivers' standings, with the Brit leading the Monegasque by just eight points now - 241-233.

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Written by

Graham Shaw - Consultant Editor

Digital sports leader with 30 years of senior level experience running global brands. Built sportinglife.com to be a behemoth in the UK as well as being in charge of the Planet Sport network of sites including planetf1.com, football365.com, teamtalk.com and planetrugby.com. Then grew goal.com to be the world's biggest soccer website in 18 languages and 37 territories. Was GM of Portals for Perform Group (now DAZN) with overall responsibility for sportingnews.com, spox.de and voetbalzone.nl.

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