Making more aggressive changes
Several weeks before 2026 began, Vasseur outlined his perspective on 2026. The Ferrari team principal emphasised that the pecking order at round one in Australia is inevitably going to evolve throughout the year.
He also explained the importance of not going through your development funds too early. According to the Frenchman, a more sensible approach is to make gradual improvements as you better understand these 2026 cars.
After all, with the budget cap restricting spending, teams will pay a high price for any upgrades that don’t work effectively.
Perhaps because of this, Ferrari brought a relatively ‘safe’ package to Barcelona this week. Unlike some other teams, such as Aston Martin or McLaren, the Maranello squad were relatively conservative.
Inevitably, the SF-26 still included some important ideas that will feature in 2026. However, the Italian car introduced in Spain was by no means the most ambitious on the field.
In many ways, this is consistent with Fred Vasseur’s stated philosophy. Ferrari chose to take a more cautious approach in Barcelona. Broadly speaking, their objective was to analyse the SF-26’s initial data and assess the next steps.
Of course, this does not mean that new components or upgrades will be conceived between now and the first tests in Bahrain – which are less than two weeks away.
Instead, Ferrari hope to confirm the upgrades already in the pipeline will work as intended.
Therefore, the engineers in Maranello now look to confirm if their development trajectory – at least in its early stages – can be pursued without any unforeseen complications.
On paper, the Italian outfit can be satisfied with the SF-26’s first taste of serious track time. Simultaneously, because Ferrari went relatively ‘safe’ with their first package, more concrete indications will only begin to emerge in Bahrain. (cont. on next page)
