Ferrari staff’s ‘mood’ has ‘soured’ after seeing McLaren and Red Bull’s upgrades at Miami Grand Prix

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The mood at Ferrari is now believed to have soured after seeing McLaren and Red Bull eclipse them in the pecking order despite taking 11 upgrades to the Miami Grand Prix.

No team unveiled more updates at Hard Rock Stadium last weekend than the Scuderia, who sought to maximise the five-week break before the Miami GP to reinforce their initial status as Mercedes’ main title rival in 2026. Mercedes had also taken just two upgrades to Florida.

While Ferrari arrived in Miami with a new front wing, floor, rear wing and diffuser, as well as modifications to their front and rear suspension, Mercedes intend to debut their first major upgrade package in Canada on May 22-24, when McLaren will even reveal further updates.

McLaren elected to split their upgrade package, with it said that the papaya squad only took 60% of their updates to America. Yet Lando Norris won the F1 Sprint in Miami from pole in a McLaren one-two, and the Briton could have won the Miami GP if he had pitted a lap earlier.

Which F1 team were the biggest disappointment at the upgrade-heavy Miami Grand Prix? 📊

Data from @FDataAnalysis

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Ferrari’s mood ‘soured’ after seeing the SF-26 fall behind the McLaren MCL40 and Red Bull RB22

Mercedes gem Andrea Kimi Antonelli won the Miami GP from pole after undercutting Norris for the lead of the race. Ferrari ace Charles Leclerc had been in the battle for the lead earlier on, but the Monegasque lost his momentum after he made an earlier pit stop on Lap 21/57.

READ MORE: Top 10 drivers to race for Ferrari in Formula 1, ranked

In the end, Leclerc even blew his chance to score a podium, as he spun whilst trying to apply pressure on Oscar Piastri of McLaren for P3. And to make matters worse, Leclerc drew a 20s penalty in the Miami GP, after shortcutting several corners due to the damage from his spin.

The speed that McLaren, and also Red Bull, showed at the Miami GP was most alarming for Ferrari, though. And according to Auto Motor und Sport, the ‘mood’ among Ferrari’s staff in Miami ‘soured’ after seeing McLaren and Red Bull’s updates overturn their early advantage.

While Max Verstappen spinning on the first lap of the Miami GP and Isack Hadjar crashing at Turn 15 due to a mistake on Lap 6 hindered Red Bull’s hopes, their upgrades made the RB22 far more competitive than it had been since Hadjar qualified P3 at the Australian Grand Prix.

Verstappen qualified P2 for the Miami GP with a deficit of 0.166s to Antonelli’s pole position lap time. The Dutchman had even set the pace during Q2 last Saturday, with a time that was still faster than what Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton produced in Q3 for P3 and P6 on the grid.

Leclerc’s 1:28.143 in Q3 was quicker than Norris’ 1:28.183 for P4, George Russell’s 1:28.197 for P5 in the Mercedes W17 and Piastri’s 1:28.500 for P7. But the race pace of the McLaren MCL40 was superior to the Ferrari SF-26’s, and Red Bull are yet to see theirs in comparison.