Why Mercedes and McLaren are no longer 'worried' about Ferrari’s title threat

The Maranello-based team arrived in Miami with a huge upgrade package, introducing as many as 11 changes to the SF-26, although the updates have so far failed to deliver the results Ferrari had hoped for on track. Among the most significant developments were a new front wing, an updated version of the so-called “macarena” wing and a revised floor, despite rival teams also bringing major upgrades of their own.

Speaking on Sky F1 Show, Chandhok admitted Ferrari’s Miami weekend was ultimately underwhelming: “I think it was overall, a bit disappointing for them. As someone from McLaren and someone else from Mercedes both pointed out to me, if that is the big Ferrari upgrade for this early part of the season, then we’re not worried, because if that’s the best they’ve got, and they haven’t got something coming for a little while, we’ll be okay.”

Chandhok believes Miami should have been the weekend that finally pushed Ferrari to the front of the field, especially with Mercedes still out of sync and not expected to introduce their own major upgrades until Canada. Instead, he feels the Scuderia have lost ground to both Red Bull and McLaren after previously appearing ahead of them earlier in the season, adding that there should now be some concern within Ferrari and Maranello.

“This should have been the weekend which propelled them in front, doesn’t it? We know Mercedes are out of sync. They’re bringing their upgrade to Canada. Ferrari were ahead of Red Bull and were ahead of McLaren, and I feel like they’ve slipped behind. I think there’s a little bit of concern, or there should be a little bit of concern at Maranello and Ferrari.”

The Brit believes Ferrari must take a closer look at the solutions introduced by rival teams during the Miami Grand Prix weekend, with the seven-time world champion placing particular attention on the front wing designs used by Mercedes, McLaren and Red Bull. Speaking to GPblog among other media, Hamilton admitted the visual differences between Ferrari’s concept and those seen on rival cars are evident, suggesting the Italian team should carefully investigate whether there is performance to be unlocked in that area.

According to him, the three rival teams all appear to have made steps forward while following a similar direction with their front wings, something Ferrari has not replicated so far. While he stopped short of claiming it is the sole explanation behind the current performance gap, the Briton made it clear he is curious to understand whether those aerodynamic concepts are contributing to the progress shown by the competition in recent races.