Fred Vasseur believes 2026 will be a big "opportunity to stop Red Bull"

Fred Vasseur focuses on 2026
How do you stop Red Bull? That’s what every team asks, investing effort, resources, and creativity, focusing on planning and talent both on and off the track. Since his first day at Scuderia Ferrari, Frederic Vasseur has tried to restore order to a team that had shown serious issues under the previous management. After some initial mistakes, the Frenchman abandoned bold statements and rolled up his sleeves, working towards making the Italian side competitive again.

Despite the track results (Red Bull winning in 21 out of 22 races and in 26 out of 28), there is confidence in Maranello regarding the recovery plan with Fred Vasseur at the helm. Charles Leclerc mentioned it, and the Frenchman himself confirmed it, framing 2026 as the key year.

Fred Vasseur’s comments
“It’s an opportunity for everyone to break this cycle. Formula 1 operates in cycles, as the last 25 years have shown. Changes in regulations are often an opportunity to stop them,” he said during the Christmas lunch with journalists, referring to 2026, the year when Formula 1 will revolutionize power units.

“Saying that now we are quite cautious about the regulations. We more or less know how we will be with the engine and energy management. Now we need to adapt the chassis part. At the same time, however, we tend to postpone the regulations because we wouldn’t want someone to start working on them already. That’s why last week we decided to postpone the aerodynamic tests to January 2025 and the technical tests on the 2026 cars to June 2024: someone could have decided not to develop for the next two years and focus everything on 2026. At least the chassis part will be published, and we will have time to work on it.” – the Ferrari team principal pointed out.

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“The biggest issue is 2026. We need to prepare robust regulations, working together with the FIA technical department. Today, the business is much more sustainable, thanks to the budget cap and prize money distribution. For Formula 1, these are guarantees of stability for the future: for the Concorde Agreement, we are now in a much better situation than 4-5 years ago. Before Covid, four or five teams were on the brink of bankruptcy,” he concluded. “We can then discuss technical and sporting regulations, but they are marginal aspects that will not impact the business of Formula 1. I’m not sure that without financial regulations, we would have been able to attract Audi and new investors. We are on the right track. Now we all need to work together and with serenity.” – Fred Vasseur concluded.