Formula 1 enters the second half of the season with Ferrari still in the fight for the constructors’ championship. For the team principal, Fred Vasseur, the decisive factor to maintain this fight will be to preserve the car’s development pace in the upcoming stages after the category’s break.
Read more F1: Norris did not expect a McLaren victory so early in 2026
After the Hungarian GP, Vasseur assessed that the constant evolution of the project was Ferrari’s main asset so far. However, he highlighted that the team will need to sustain this work in the face of competition, especially because Mercedes has already indicated that it will implement a large update package after the mid-season break.
In a conversation with the press, the director divided the first half of the season into two distinct moments. According to him, Mercedes built a significant advantage in the first races, but the situation changed from the Barcelona GP, won by Lewis Hamilton, when Ferrari began to recover ground: “The first part of the season had, I would say, two phases. The first was until Spain, when Mercedes was flying and scored something like a hundred points more than us in four or five races. After Spain, we started to score more points than them in the next four or five races,” he said.
Even so, the difference remains relevant. After Kimi Antonelli’s victory in Monaco, Mercedes opened a 79-point lead in the constructors’ championship. In the next five stages, Ferrari reduced this difference to 72 points before the calendar break.
Read more F1: How the mandatory category break works
Vasseur explained that Ferrari adopts a different strategy from McLaren, which has also been showing evolution, in car development. While the British team prefers to introduce large update packages at specific moments of the season, Ferrari seeks to bring novelties practically at every stage: “We have a different approach, trying to bring new parts at every race. We need to maintain this pace because there are still eleven or twelve races left, and we have room to evolve the chassis in all aspects. The most important thing is to be able to maintain the development pace,” he added.
The Frenchman also acknowledged that there are still areas to be improved. He cited the team’s execution at the Hungarian GP, which he described as below expectations, and stated that the power unit also needs to evolve, although this process takes more time. Still, he reinforced that preserving the ability to develop the car will continue to be the most important element to keep Ferrari in the fight for the constructors’ title.
Read more F1: Briatore defends Sprint races in all 24 calendar events
