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Ferrari Upgrade Underwhelms at Austrian GP as McLaren Leads Practice

Ferrari’s redesigned floor delivered expected downforce without significantly closing the gap to McLaren’s benchmark pace

Overview

  • Ferrari introduced a fully revamped floor, diffuser and bodywork but reported only fine gains across different cornering speeds.
  • Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton ended Friday practice at the Red Bull Ring roughly six and nine tenths off Lando Norris, underscoring persistent ride-height challenges.
  • Max Verstappen identified understeer in medium-speed Turns 6 and 7 as a priority for Red Bull to address after minor floor-edge updates delivered small speed boosts.
  • McLaren’s Lando Norris continued to set the benchmark thanks to front suspension geometry tweaks paired with aerodynamic revisions.
  • Teams are chasing incremental performance improvements under their development programmes ahead of the season’s second half and next year’s regulation overhaul.