Fréd Vasseur, the Team Principal of Scuderia Ferrari, spoke about the work carried out in Maranello so far on the Project 678, also touching on what the official name of the 2026 Ferrari might be.
During the traditional pre-Christmas media event with selected journalists, Fred Vasseur revealed the launch date for the 2026 Ferrari. Fans are eager to know what the new car from the Prancing Horse will be called, and here’s what the French manager had to share.
Ferrari has officially confirmed that the 2026 car will be unveiled on January 23, immediately followed by initial on-track testing. At this stage, it is not yet decided how the mileage will be shared between Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, but what is certain is that the 2026 Ferrari will take to the Fiorano circuit. Fans are expected to gather on the “Ponte dei Sospiri” to cheer for the Scuderia. Motorsport.com reports that Fred Vasseur also highlighted the work done so far in both sporting management and broader team operations.
Will the new Ferrari follow the naming tradition of its predecessors?
What will the car be called? Will Ferrari continue with the “SF-26” designation, or will there be a change? Fred Vasseur responded: “This will be part of the launch, and you will find out a little later. I don’t want to spoil the surprise for everyone and I can’t reveal everything right now.” Therefore, the 2026 car’s name remains a secret, as do many other details. What is clear, however, is that arriving in Barcelona with a strong baseline will be essential, providing a platform for the numerous updates expected throughout the season. At the start of a new regulatory cycle, upgrades are crucial and can make a significant difference. By halting development of the SF-25 very early in April, Ferrari aims to leverage this advantage from the first race of the season.
Fred Vasseur also explained how decisions were made based on the correlation between track performance and simulator data. “Honestly, the correlation between CFD, wind tunnel testing, and on-track results has been good over the past two years; we haven’t had major problems. That said, starting a new project with different tires and many other new elements requires everyone to complete a full correlation cycle. This will likely be one of the main topics during the Barcelona tests. It’s a less familiar area compared to the 2025 project, but this applies to all teams.”
It is worth noting that Ferrari will be allowed more wind tunnel hours than McLaren, Mercedes, and Red Bull in the first half of the new year. However, the budget cap will be another critical factor that must be carefully managed, as it will directly influence the pace and scope of development.
“The key factor for introducing upgrades won’t be the wind tunnel development capacity, but the budget cap itself. This means we need to be very careful in how we allocate our development budget. For example, introducing a new floor in Japan or China comes with high costs, including transportation. It may be more efficient to extend development and schedule the introduction of an update in Bahrain instead. This is an aspect we will evaluate daily, balancing the benefit from wind tunnel data with the cost of development. Of course, it also depends on what is being developed: shipping an update for the front wing flap to China costs much less than sending a new floor.” – the Ferrari team boss pointed out.
Fred Vasseur has therefore confirmed that Ferrari will launch its 2026 challenger on January 23rd, though the official name remains a surprise. The team is prioritizing a surgical approach to the budget cap and correlation testing to ensure their early shift in focus toward the new regulations translates into a competitive advantage on track.
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