Ferrari brings biggest SF-26 upgrade to Austin, but sidepod timing is disputed
Ferrari is reported to be bringing the fourth and biggest aerodynamic upgrade of its 2026 season to Circuit of the Americas in Austin for this weekend's United States Grand Prix. Outlets disagree, however, on how much of it arrives in Austin and how much waits until Mexico City next week. With six races left, it is also the last major development step for the SF-26.
The floor is the core, aimed at the front-heavy balance
The Race, in a piece dated 18 October, described the package as Ferrari's fourth and most significant aerodynamic upgrade of the season. The most extensive change is the floor, which is revised as a whole system from the front section through to the diffuser. The aims are more downforce from the underside and a fix for an aerodynamic balance that is still biased towards the front. The Race also wrote that Ferrari wants to widen the operating window, something Red Bull has managed better.
The new floor builds on the previous package introduced at Zandvoort. Ferrari kept working on the floor because it saw more potential there, according to the same report.
Sidepods and cooling: refinement, not a rethink
The Race said the sidepod concept does not change; Ferrari is refining the existing design, with modified cooling louvres to suit the new geometry. The main goal is less drag. The SF-26 is said to suffer in that area, and the less powerful engine does not help. The upper bodywork is part of the update too, though few details have been given.
Ferrari also studied Red Bull's sidepod approach, which uses the floor stay fillet (up to 20mm under current rules) to create waterslide-style channels. It chose not to commit significant resources, because a change of that size would need major floor integration with uncertain gains in the remaining races.
Austin or Mexico City?
Crash.net, in a piece updated on 19 October and relaying recent Motorsport.com reports, said the new floor is expected at next weekend's US GP, while revised sidepods and bodywork are more likely to debut a week later in Mexico City. The changes to the cooling openings on the sidepods and engine cover are meant to cut drag and close the speed gap to rivals on the straights. The Race also mentions further cooling configurations for the Mexican GP, with larger openings to cope with altitude.
The two reports part ways on the sidepods. The Race treats the whole package as an Austin item, while Crash.net has only the floor arriving in Austin and the rest more likely in Mexico City. The FIA's team-by-team upgrade list, published this Thursday, should settle it.
What is at stake
According to Crash.net, Ferrari is second in the Constructors' Championship, 112 points ahead of Red Bull, with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc third and fifth in the Drivers' standings. Max Verstappen has won the last two Grands Prix and is fourth. The Race said this is the last package of this scale for the SF-26, after which work is mainly limited to circuit-specific adaptations, and that Ferrari has already used wind-tunnel work to explore directions for 2027. Austin will also test how well the simulation tools match on-track behaviour.
The race is on Sunday 25 October local time. Before that, Friday's practice running is the first place to see how the car behaves with the new floor.