Despite an 87-point deficit to Constructors' Championship leaders Mercedes, Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur was blunt: "But if you want to be the champion, you can't leave points on the table." Time is running out. Back at their home circuit, the Scuderia face a serious problem, because for all its pace, their car, the SF-26, is short of wins. The team lost momentum across the last two races, while Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc have just one victory apiece this season.
Maranello's answer for the Italian Grand Prix is a 15bhp engine upgrade and a low-drag rear wing worth two tenths a lap, though set against their deficit on the straights that is no guarantee. At the same time, the squeeze is coming from behind, with McLaren and Lando Norris, winner of the last two races, closing in. Yet the opportunity is ideal, because championship leader Kimi Antonelli will start from the back. If Ferrari cannot take this chance in front of the Italian fans, their title ambitions become nothing more than damage limitation.
