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Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has confirmed that the Scuderia will continue to develop their current Formula 1 car, the SF-26, despite their increasingly slim chances of winning the championship.
Following Lewis Hamilton's retirement from the Spanish Grand Prix due to brake issues, the seven-time world champion now trails championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli by 101 points. Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc finished a mere fourth in Madrid, leaving Ferrari 145 points behind Mercedes in the constructors' standings.
Car development resources must be carefully managed due to budget caps and aerodynamic testing restrictions. On the engine front, Ferrari has already introduced both permitted ADUO system upgrades.
While it's widely known that teams are already working on their 2027 cars, Vasseur has no intention of Ferrari shifting their entire focus to the future.
“We are not in the situation we were 12 months ago,” the Frenchman stated, referencing the 2026 Formula 1 technical regulation changes. “What we develop now, we will be able to carry over into next year's project. We will continue to work, but perhaps on different things, different aspects.”
“Eighty percent of the developments we are making now will be carried over,” he added.
Regarding Ferrari's title prospects, Vasseur was asked if the battle against Antonelli and Mercedes was already over – a question he declined to answer directly.
“Two or three weeks ago, I told you I would approach it race by race. I haven't changed my mind,” he insisted.
Qualifying performance could be key for Ferrari, as neither Hamilton nor Leclerc has managed a front-row start in any of the four sessions (including the Zandvoort sprint) since the summer break. Their average starting position is fifth, with the SF-26 trailing pole position by 0.198 seconds – slower than McLaren and Mercedes, but faster than Red Bull.
“This is what we need to improve, because I think when you look at the pace, during the race it's there,” Vasseur said. “We certainly need to do better in qualifying. If we take Zandvoort and this race, the profile of the events is somewhat similar for us. We had decent pace in qualifying, but we couldn't put everything together on the final attempt, and the race pace is good.”
“If I have to focus the team's attention on something today, it would be the evolution of pace during qualifying – more than the pace itself, but the steps we can make. We were there on the first attempt in Q3, the potential is there, we just need to adapt everything further.”
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