There are moments in certain races where everything seems to click: the car breathes, the rhythm is clean, and the track opens up ahead like a promise. Ferrari was in that zone for a while—long enough to offer a glimpse of what could be. Then the race fractured, as if someone had suddenly changed the lighting in the room: the Safety Car, the rivals’ overtake mode, and temperatures rising where they shouldn’t. Fred Vasseur recounts it calmly, without drama, but between the lines, you can feel that the SF-26 has two faces, and the boundary between control and vulnerability is still far too thin. He doesn’t say it outright, but it’s clear the weekend leaves a question hanging in the air.
A race split in two: early control followed by vulnerability
His analysis begins with what actually worked, and it’s no small feat:
«It is a difficult race to interpret. Because in the first part of the race, when we were leading, we managed to maintain first place… it was a race under control.»
In those opening laps, the Ferrari was solid, clean, and orderly. Then the Safety Car arrived, and everything flipped: «As soon as the Safety Car arrived, the others closed in, they used the overtake mode, and we lost position. And from there, it was a much more difficult race.»
This was the moment the SF-26 lost the thread. Not due to a lack of raw speed, but a lack of continuity.
The core issue: the rear tire
Fred Vasseur doesn’t hide it; in fact, he puts it front and center: «We especially suffered from overheating on the rear tire… there is a big performance gap between the first laps leading up to the Safety Car and the rest of the race.»
This was the key to the weekend: the Ferrari performs when it is alone, when it dictates the pace.
Qualifying as a mirror: missing a little, but missing it consistently
He then broadens his perspective:
«We are missing one or two tenths in all sessions. We have to develop, we have to bring performance; it will be like this until the end of the season.»
It is a lucid admission: Ferrari is not far off, but it doesn’t yet have the margin to dominate a weekend.
The pace is there, but not always
The central point is consistency, not just speed: «As soon as we had a clear track… the pace was good. Whereas we struggled much more when we were in a pack on track.»
Translated: the SF-26 is strong when it dictates the rhythm, but fragile when it has to defend. This is a structural limit, not an isolated incident.
Straight-line speed, overtake mode, and vulnerability
Fred Vasseur faces the facts head-on: «We don’t have a straight-line advantage… it’s easy for us to lose positions when someone else uses the overtake mode.»
It is a known problem, but today it became glaringly evident. Ferrari lacks the weapon to defend itself when others open everything up. Yet, there is a point he wants to emphasize: «We managed to stay in the lead with a certain degree of ease for the first 15-17 laps.»
The car, when in clean air, works. The problem is everything else. His closing is an invitation to stay calm, but also a warning:
«We lost control of the situation… however, let’s focus on Canada and try to bring updates as soon as possible to improve the result.»
Miami is not a failure; it is a warning. Ferrari has the rhythm, but not the continuity. And Fred Vasseur knows it well: to win, you need both.
This deep dive into Ferrari’s performance in Florida underscores the delicate balance the team must strike as they develop the SF-26 for the remainder of the 2026 season. While the car shows genuine front-running potential in clear air, resolving the thermal management of the rear tires and the straight-line speed deficit remains the top priority for the Maranello engineers ahead of the next round in Montreal.
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