Ferrari's upgraded engines ready as team weighs Monza debut for Leclerc and Hamilton

Ferrari has completed assembly of two upgraded power units for the Italian Grand Prix but will not confirm whether Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton will race them at Monza until the end of this week, when the parts list for the event is finalised.

The engines — designated 067/6 — were developed using two tokens awarded to Ferrari under Formula 1’s Additional Upgrades and Opportunities (ADUO) system, which allows teams to modify their power units within the strict cost-cap framework. Before any unit can be cleared for race use, it must complete the equivalent of at least six grands prix on a test bench without reliability issues, a process that was complicated by the mandatory summer shutdown, which extended the available testing window at Maranello.

Ferrari’s Gestione Sportiva engine department operates up to 21 dynamometer cells, but cost regulations limit active use to just two or three at any one time. Any reliability issue that prompts even a minor modification requires the entire approval process to restart from scratch — a painstaking sequence that has kept the team in a holding pattern heading into race week.

The upgraded unit is reported to produce around 15 additional horsepower and features a revised power curve designed to close the gap to Mercedes. The combustion chamber has also been reworked to better exploit a new high-calorie fuel formulated by Shell specifically for Monza’s high-speed demands, with the performance gain described as a combined effect of the advanced fuel and the revised combustion architecture. The Garrett turbocharger has been modified as part of the same package.

Ferrari is not travelling to Monza expecting a victory. The Temple of Speed’s long straights and minimal downforce requirements do not suit the SF-26’s current characteristics on paper, and Mercedes are expected to be the outright favourites. The realistic target for the Scuderia is to be competitive in qualifying and run the two drivers close to the Silver Arrows.

The SF-26s will also carry a special commemorative livery at Monza honouring Michael Schumacher’s years at Maranello, adding symbolic weight to what is already a significant home race for the team.

Elsewhere in the Italian GP grid, Ferrari junior Kimi Antonelli faces a grid penalty for a power unit change of his own, which will see the Bologna-born driver start no higher than 20th at his home grand prix.